The Alley Girl
by Big Glasses Girl FanFic
Summary: It had always been him, Jack, and his crutch. Those three things were what Crutchie Morris's life consisted of. That is until he found a girl badly beaten in an alley. Him and Jack take her in and she becomes a girl newsie. But what do they do when her uncles are after her?
1. Chapter 1

The day started just like any other. All the boys got up from the Newsie's lodging house and headed out to buy their papers to sell. Crutchie bought his and stuck them in his bag before going out.

"Crutchie!" yelled Jack running to him. "You heading down to the corner?"

Crutchie shook his head. "Not today, he shouted as he continued on. "I'm going the harbor see if the fishermen want any."

He hobbled away on his crutch passing through the boardwalk to sell a few and then down to the harbor. It was a long day with a boring headline and not too many people wanted any. If they did it was out of pity because of his leg. Some of the boys were jealous saying that his crippled leg was a goldmine but it wasn't. He had learned to work with it but how could a useless limb be helpful? He stopped at a stand in the market to buy a hunk of bread and some cheese and headed back down to the harbor to sell. By the time he had sold them all it was past 5:00 and to save time he tried going through some alleys as shortcuts.

Crutchie was heading down a particularly gross alley and was almost home when he heard a moan coming from underneath a pile of cardboard boxes. He figured it was just a normal street bum when he heard another moan and a figure sat up jostling the boxes. The figure had cuts and bruises all over his face and was pretty small looking. "Poor kid probably got into a fight with someone a lot bigger than he was." Crutchie thought. He tried to hobble a little faster down the alley to see the kid and check to see how bad of a shape he was in.

Just as he approached, the kid tried to stand up but fell back down onto the boxes. "Wow, he thought taking in all of the kids bruises, gashes, and small cuts. "This kid is in really bad shape." He bent down over the kid who had crumpled into a ball on their stomach. Crutchie noticed how long the boy's hair was and turned him over. Crutchie gasped not only due to the condition of the kid's wounds but also because this boy was a girl!

Before he could say anything her eyes flew open and she started screaming and tried to get up but fell. She inched toward the alley wall and put her hands in front of her face.

"P-please don't hurt me!" she stuttered. "I'll l-leave I promise!"

Crutchie sat down laying his crutch on the cement and put his hands up surrendering. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said slowly scooching toward the cowering girl. "Who did this to you?"

She shook her head and then stopped putting her hand on a large bruise on her neck. "I-I don't remember." She said shivering in the cool air. Crutchy took off his jacket and draped it across her shoulders over the ratty dress she was wearing. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Sixteen." She said leaning against the wall.

"Where do you live?" he asked.

"Nowhere." She sighed. "My mom just passed away and I lived with my uncles for a few weeks but they hate me."

"Ohh, said Crutchie. "That sucks."

She gave him a small smile. "I'm Emma." She said holding out her hand which was red and bruised.

He gently shook her hand. "The guys call me Crutchie." He said.

She instead of the normal look of pity people gave him that he hated, she laughed softly. "Creative name." she said and began to cough.

She began to stand up but wobbled and put her hand on the wall for support. She took off his jacket and handed it to him. Her skirt was ripped and tattered and he could see many more bruises on her legs and bare arms, whoever did this really did a number on her. "Thanks but I should really try to go find a place to sleep." She said. "Apparently this alley has a lot of traffic." She began to walk but stumbled and fell onto the boxes. Crutchie stood up, he couldn't just leave her, what if the person who did this came back? She would never be able to fend for herself. Or worse, someone from the Refuge might come get her.

"Hmm, he thought, Maybe she could stay on the rooftop with me and Jack until she gets better. But there's no way I can carry her." Then he had an idea. They were pretty close to the lodging house and Jack usually stayed on the corner till about six. "Stay right here." He said to Emma who had sat up and was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. She groaned and Crutchie figured that meant ok.

He hobbled out of the alley and to the corner where he saw Jack from across the street counting his earnings. "Jack!" yelled Crutchie. Jack looked up, stuffed his money into his pocket and trotted over. "What's up?" he asked. "And why are you out of breath?" Crutchie told Jack all about how he had found Emma all beat up in the alley and that he needed his help. Jack ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know Crutchie, he said, Do you really think that it's a good idea?"

Crutchie nodded, "Jack they got her bad. She's in worse shape than I was when you found me. We have to help her Jack." Jack finally nodded. "Alright where is she?"

He followed Crutchie to the alley and saw her sleeping body on the flattened boxes. His eyes went huge. "You said it was bad but this…, he sighed, "This is worse than bad."

Crutchie knelt down by her side and gently tried to shake her awake. This startled her and she immediately flinched but when she saw that it was only Crutchie she relaxed. "Emma, he said, "This is my friend Jack." Jack gave a small wave from behind him. "We're going to take you someplace else." Emma nodded slightly before passing out and falling back asleep. Crutchie stood up and backed away as Jack bent down to pick her up. "She's really light." Jack said as he carried her out of the alley fireman style. Together they walked and hobbled back to the rooftop of the lodging home.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey Guys just to make it clear I do not own Newsies!

They made it to the rooftop with Emma slung over Jack's shoulder and Crutchie climbing up one rung at a time. "Where should I put her?" Jack asked after Crutchie reached the top. "Just put her on my bed." He said "I'll use the extra mat and blankets." Jack gently laid her down on Crutchie's mat and draped a blanket over her small body.

Crutchie leaned on the railing overlooking the now sleeping city. Jack walked over and joined him. "Why would someone do that to her Jack?" he asked, "That just ain't right."

Jack took off his hat and sighed. "How old are you Crutchie?"

"I just turned seventeen remember." Said Crutchie still gazing at the city.

"Of course I remember. I'm just trying to make a point." Jack said. "Over a month ago I turned 18 and I is lived on the street for a long time." He sighed, "You'll see a lot of things that are wrong out here." He gestured to the sleeping Emma, "This is one of many. You were one too kid. I found you in that same alley almost as dinged up as she is."

Jack walked over and sat on his mat. "That's why I want to go to Santa Fe Crutchie. No worries they got there." He laid down and pulled the blankets over his head. "Good night Crutchie."

"Night Jack." Said Crutchie as he hobbled over to set up the extra mat and blankets. Before going to sleep he looked over at Emma. "Night Emma."

He woke up earlier than Emma and Jack. Crutchie had always been an early bird and liked to be up before the city. Emma slept like the dead and hadn't moved at all from the spot Jack put her in. She was still bruised and beaten up but at least the color had returned to her skin and the bruises had a faded a little. He decided to surprise Jack and Emma with breakfast and went down the ladder a leg at a time to a stand to get some bagels which were Jack's favorites. He paid for three and headed back up to the rooftop to see that Emma was awake.

Crutchie made his way up the ladder as quietly as he could so that he wouldn't wake Jack and whispered a small, "Hey." To Emma who had her back turned. She jumped at the sound of his voice but calmed when she saw who it was. "What are you doing awake?" he asked quietly.

She smiled, "I'm a morning person. And your friend over there snores."

Crutchie laughed. "Jack? He doesn't snore- he makes whale noises." They both laughed as Jack groaned and said, "You guys know that I can here you right?"

"No problem Jack, said Crutchie. "Your snores blend in with the trains." At this they all cracked up, including Jack. Crutchie shook the bag in his hand and asked, "Who wants bagels?"

Crutchie gave them each a bagel an between bites him and Jack asked Emma questions, "What are you going to do now?" asked Jack before taking a bite of his sesame seed bagel.

Emma shrugged, "I'll find some way to make money. Shining shoes maybe or helping with odd jobs I guess."

"You could sell newspapers with us." Crutchie piped up. "That's what me and Jack do."

Her eyes went wide. "You guys are Newsies?" she asked. "I always wanted to be a newsie. Wandering the city going where you wanna go."

"Yeah," said Jack. "But it's not all as glam as it sounds. Not too many people want newspapers and what you eat depends on the headline. Where else do you have to go?"

"Nowhere." Said Emma shaking her head and looked at Crutchie as she spoke. "My mom just died and I have to live with my uncles. I've only met them one other time and they hate me."

"Well then," Said Jack as he stood up, "I guess you've only got one other option. You're gonna have to be a newsie."

Jack spit into his hand and held it out. Emma spit into hers and they shook hands. "If you is gonna be a newsie," Crutchie started. "You is gonna need to look like a boy."

He dug through a pile of clothes and handed her a pair a pants, a gray button down shirt, and a hat. "These should fit," he said. "Just tuck your hair up into that hat and the boots you're wearing should be fine. Jack and I will meet you at the bottom." Crutchie said as Jack began down the ladder.

"Ok." Said Emma. Crutchie started heading down the ladder. "And Crutchie?" He looked up at her. "Thanks." She said. He gave her a salute and left.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack was waiting for Crutchie at the bottom of the ladder. "You think she can make it?" he asked Crutchie. Crutchie nodded, "If she can make it through a beating like that she can sell some papes."

They heard a clanking noise from up above and then saw Emma climbing down the ladder towards them. When there was about 5 rungs left to climb she jumped down. Her dark brown hair was tucked in under her hat and the clothes fit her pretty well.

"How do I look?" she asked the boys. Crutchie stroked his chin and pretended to ponder the thought. "Well," he began. "Make your voice a little deeper and pull your hat down a tad lower. Before she could reach for her hat he pulled it down so that it covered her whole face. "It's perfect!" he cried.

"Oh knock it off!" she said playfully punching his arm.

Jack shook his head and smiled. "Hurry up you two. We can't be late!"

The three walked and hobbled down to "The World" building to buy their newspapers for the day. "You need a name." Jack told Emma before they walked in. Emma thought for a moment and then said, "How about Michael?"

Jack smiled, "Great." The walked into the building and steeped in line with the other boys. "You need me to spot you a dime?" Crutchie asked her. Emma shook her head, "Before I ran away I tucked a handful of dimes into my skirt. I'm fine but thanks."

A group of boys walked over to them. "Who's the new kid, eh?" said the one with a cigar in his mouth. "Race this is Michael." Said Crutchie. "Michael, this is Race, Mush, and Romeo. They live in the lodging house."

"Hey." Said Emma in a deeper voice that sounded kind of phony. Crutchie nudged her in the side as if to say knock it off but then immediately thought about the unhealed bruises and felt terrible. "Sorry." He muttered under his breath. Emma cleared her throat, "Hey." She said again in a more natural voice.

"'sup." Said the dark haired boy named. "I'm Mush, cigar mouth over there is Race, and that's Romeo." Race stepped forward, "Where you come from?"

"I um I uhh," Emma started, but before she could continue an old, skinny, and greasy looking man stepped in. "Alright Newsies, he shouted over the raucous. "Line up!" The noise died down and all the boys fell in line and Crutchie stood next to Emma. "That's Wiesel, he whispered. "But we all call him Weasel. Just say what I say when it's your turn, kay?" Emma nodded.

"Twenty papes please." Crutchie said slamming down a dime on the desk. "Twenty papes for old cripple here." Said Weasel as he handed him a stack of newspapers. "Next!"

Emma walked up to the desk. "I'll take twenty papers." She said tossing a dime on the table. Weasel stroked his chin that only had a few hairs sticking out. "New kid," he said. "Small thing aren't you?"

Emma's face went red as Weasel handed her the papers. "Funny," she said. "I could say the same thing about you, Weasel!" The boys around her cracked up with laughter as she walked toward Crutchie.

"Nice one!" he said giving her a slap on the back. He immediately drew his hand back as if she had stung him. "Sorry!" he said putting his hands in the air. "I'm keep forgetting about the bruises." Now it was Emma's turn to laugh. "It doesn't hurt to bad Crutchie, you're fine."

The started to head out of the building when Jack trotted up to them. "Nice one Em- I mean Michael." He said. "Just be careful doing that when the Delancey brothers are here."

Emma cocked her head, "Who are they?" she asked. "The name sounds familiar." Crutchie pretended to shiver. "Probably the most vile people you is ever gonna meet." He said as the continued walking and hobbling. "Probably throw puppies in the harbor for fun."

The three walked out onto the corner. "Where you two gonna go?" Jack asked Crutchie. He shrugged, "I'll show her the hotspots and the park." He said. "Give her some tips on who to sell to." Jack nodded. "Show her the ropes Crutch." He said as he began to stroll away. "I'll be a little bit everywhere today, see you later." He yelled over his shoulder.

Emma and Crutchie walked and hobbled away for a little while until they reached a large fountain with little cupid sculptures decorating it. Crutchie sat down on a wooden bench and motioned for Emma to sit next to him. The square was busy with lots of people coming and going. "Alright," he said. "Welcome to paper sellin' lessons with Crutchie. First I will show you the kind of people you want to sell to." He used his crutch to gesture to a fancy looking lady with a lacy dress. "Watch and learn." He said getting up. He used his crutch and limped over to a spot in front of the lady looking weak and sick. As the lady was approaching he gave a loud cough and asked her, "Excuse me ma'am," he coughed again, "Would you like to buy today's newspaper?" The lady gave him a sad look. "You poor thing!" she exclaimed. "Sure I'll take one." She opened up her purse and fished out five cents and handed it to him. Crutchie handed her the newspaper. "Thank you so much ma'am." He said with a big grin. "Everything helps."

He hobbled back over towards Emma who was sitting on the bench with her mouth wide open. "See?" Crutchie said. "There really ain't nothin to it." He began counting off on his fingers, "The rich ladies- act sick and pathetic, they eat that stuff up. Business men- walk fast they don't like to stop for nothin in the world. And the common folk- just yell it out and the occasional cough is good but don't overdo it. Got it?"

Emma nodded, "I think so." Crutchie leaned on his crutch and stood up. "Great," he said. "I'll take that corner." He said pointing diagonally away from where they were standing. "And you take them that one." He pointed in the opposite direction. He gave her another salute, "Good luck." He gathered his papers and hobbled away to the far corner.

Emma took a deep breath and headed to her corner. "How hard can this be?" she thought to herself. She scanned the sidewalk looking for a worthy target. Aha! A man in a suit was heading her way, and fast. Emma cleared her throat "Excuse me sir," she said holding out a newspaper. "Would you like to-'' before she could finish the man hurriedly walked past her. "Huh," she thought to herself. "Crutchie was right, these guy don't wanna stop for anything."

She continued to scan the sidewalk and saw a woman with a fluffy dress and a flower hat coming her way. Emma pushed back her hat to let the bruises show a little better and sat down leaning against an iron bench. Right when the lady in the hat walked by, Emma coughed and called out, "Pardon me ma'am but would you like to," she coughed again for dramatic effect, "buy a newspaper?" The woman gave Emma a pity smile and reached into her purse for some change. "Here you are dear." Said the hat lady as she handed Emma the change. "Gee thanks!" cried Emma as she handed the lady a paper. "Yes!" Emma squealed looking at the change in her grimy hand, "I did it!"

After a handful more of normal people had walked by and bought some Crutchie hobbled over to Emma's corner. "How's it go 'in?" he asked he only had about seven newspapers left in his hand. "Pretty good." Emma replied showing him how many she had left. He gave her a slight nod. "That's pretty good for a newbie. Let's go grab somethin for lunch." He said. Sure enough as he said that Emma's stomach moaned. "Yeah," Emma answered. "Sounds good to me!"

Crutchie smiled and said, "Great, I know a perfect little deli around here that's pretty cheap. This way." He said starting to head in the direction of his corner. Emma bent down to tie her shoelaces and when she looked up he was a good ways ahead of her. "Wow, she thought, "He's pretty good on that crutch." She ran to catch up to him. He could hear her coming and over his shoulder yelled back to her, "Eat my dust newbie!" and began to pick up speed. Emma laughed and sprinted to catch up to him. "Ok, ok!" she said when she finally caught up to him and threw her hands in the air. "You win!" Crutchie threw his head back and laughed.

They walked a little ways more without talking and just taking in the cool air when Emma finally spoke up and asked him, "Would I be over stepping my boundaries in asking what happened to your leg?" Crutchie shook his head and said "Nah everyone knows what happened. Bad case of polio, took my mom too." "Oh." Said Emma. "I'm so sorry." He sighed, "It's ok, and I was so young I almost don't remember." They continue to travel a little more down the street when he stopped in front of a small building. "Here we are, he said. "Our five star restaurant for this afternoon." He held open the door for Emma. "Thanks!" said Emma as she walked in.

They both ordered turkey sandwiches and got them to go so that they could eat in the park. After eating they headed back to their separate corners and sold newspapers for another few hours.

"Thanks!" Emma shouted after the person who had just bought her last newspaper. She headed over to Crutchie's corner to see how he was doing and to see if he needed any help. "Just sold my last one." He said as she arrived. He grabbed his bag and stood up. "Now what?" Emma asked him. "Now," he said. "We get to go home." He started walking away.

"Home." Thought Emma. "I haven't heard that word in a while." "You coming?" Crutchie called from up ahead. Emma shook her head to get rid of those thoughts and ran to catch up to him.


	4. Chapter 4

A week went by and for Emma things were going great. She had never but her father, her mother was always coming and going, and her uncles were scumbags. Crutchie and Jack were the closest thing she had ever had to a real family.

Every day, either her or Crutchie (depending on whoever got up first) would go at and get breakfast and then they all headed down to buy their newspapers together. Emma now new the tricks and the streets well enough and began to sell on her own. But every day after her and Crutchie sold all of their newspapers, which was usually around five o'clock, they would go meet each other at the fountain where Crutchie first taught her how to sell newspapers. From there they would go get food for dinner and head back to the rooftop.

She had once asked the boys, "Do you guys need me to leave?" The two had looked puzzled. "I can go find a new place to stay." Jack laughed, "Listen Emma," he had said. "You are no burden. You're neat, you share your income, and get up and get me breakfast in the morning. You're fine." So she continued to live with the boys.

One morning she woke up quite early to raindrops plopping on her cheek. She quickly got up and tied the rolled up tarp to each railing so that it was a roof and kept them dry. As she was it on the last railing Crutchie began to stir. He sat up stretching his arms in the air and examined Emma's tarp job. "Nice job." He said. "Thanks." She replied as she began to put on her boots. "You wanna come with me to go get breakfast?" He gave her a smile, nodded, and began to put on his boots. Emma tucked her hair into her hat and began to climb down the ladder.

"Wow," though Crutchie as he watched Emma climb down. "She is one heck of a girl." He grabbed his crutch, crawled over to the ladder, and began to climb down one rung at a time.

When he finally reached the bottom Emma asked him, "So, do you wanna do bagels today?" "Sure." He replied and began to hobble away. They stopped at their usual stand to purchase the bagels and headed back. "It's a crummy day today isn't it?" said Crutchie. "Makes it harder to sell papers, no one wants to be outside for long today." Emma nodded. "I don't even wanna be out here." She said to him.

When they reached the rooftop Jack was awake and already ready to go. "Let's walk and eat." He said to them. "On a day with crummy weather like this you wanna be out first, not last." So they all climbed back down the ladder and at the bottom Emma handed everyone their bagel. Jack led the way to the building with Crutchie lagging behind. Emma stopped and waited for him. "You ok?" she asked. He gave a quick nod. "I must've just slept on it funny." He said still continuing to hobble along. "It's nothing it happens every once in a while."

They arrived at the building and were the first Newsies there so they all sat down on a bench. Just a few minutes later all of the Newsies showed up and Jack, Emma, and Crutchie got up quickly and made it to about 4th or 5th in line. "Ah geez." Moaned Crutchie looking into the distance. "What?" asked Emma who had a curious look on her face. "Dang it!" cried Jack slapping his forehead he walked over to go talk to some of the other boys. "It's the Delancey brothers Emma." Said Crutchie. "I was hoping they is gone for good." Emma looked over towards the direction of the Delancey brothers and gasped loudly, she then leaned against the concrete wall and slid to the floor.

"I know they's bad but they ain't that bad to look at." Crutchie joked. He looked down at Emma and when he saw the terrified expression on her face he crouched down onto the floor in front of her. "Hey, he asked. "What's wrong?" She took a deep breath. "It can't be them." She whispered. "It just can't." Crutchie gave her an odd look. "Do you know them?" he asked her. "They're," she said really scared, "They're my uncles."

Crutchie was shocked. "The Delancey brothers are your uncles?" he cried. Emma gulped, "I didn't know that their last name was Delancey. When I spoke to them it was Uncle Oscar and Uncle Morris." "They're terrible!" Crutchie exclaimed. "How can they be your uncles?" Emma shuddered and said, "They're my dad's brothers, my only living relatives. You're right, they are terrible, the worst is when they-'' "When they get out their brass knuckles." Said Emma and Crutchie at the same time. Crutchie looked into Emma's eyes and for the first time since he had found her saw pain and fear in her eyes.

"It's gonna be ok." Crutchie told her. "Nobody has realized that you were a girl yet, why would they?" Emma shook her head, "I don't think I can do this." She said. "If they recognize me they'll take me back and…" she looked at the ground and took a deep breath. "I can't go back Crutchie. I won't make it." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, he said softly. "Look at me." She looked up at his face. "There is no way in hell that we would let anything happen to you. Every boy in this room absolutely hates the Delancey brothers with all their guts, if they so much as laid a finger on you they would get a good soaken trust me."

She smiled and looked past him at the Delanceys who were standing next to Weasel looking just as tough and nasty as they did when she had lived with them for that short period of time. "Thanks Crutchie." She said as she stood up. She held out a hand to Crutchie to help him up. He gladly took it and then leaned on his crutch. Jack walked back over and could see the worried expression on both of their faces. "What 'sup?" he asked them.

Crutchie and Emma looked at each other. "The Delanceys are her uncles." Crutchie said. "They cannot not recognize me!" Emma said quickly. "If they do," she paused. "I don't know what will happen." Jack nodded and clenched his jaw. "I outta just soak'em now." He rolled up his sleeves but Emma put her hand on his arm. "No," she said quietly. "That will just draw attention. I'll just-'' She was interrupted by Weasel who yelled, "Newsies line up!" Her eyes went wide and she turned to Crutchie, "What do I do?" "Wow," thought Crutchie. "She is really scared of these guys. What did they do to her?" He reached for her hand and held it. "It's going to be okay," he said calmly. "Just act as if nothing is wrong and you is just buyin your papes."

"Ok." She said taking a deep breath. "I can do this." He let go of her hand and turned around so that he was facing the front of the line. When it was his turn he took out his money and let it fall on the table. "Twenty papes please Weasel." He said coolly. Weasel growled and handed him his papers. Emma took a tentative step forward. Her uncles' backs were turned to her so she quickly said, "Twenty papers please." And set her coins on the table. Weasel handed her the papers and she backed away quickly just as Oscar was turning around and bumped into him. "Eh!" he shouted. He looked her straight in the eyes. "Oh God he recognizes me!" thought Emma panicking. "Watch where you're going!" he said shoving her to the floor and walking out of the building with Morris.

"Are you ok?!" Crutchie said hobbling over as fast as he could and offering her his hand. She took it and stood up. "I thought for sure that he was going to recognize me." She said in shocked daze, she shook her head to snap out of it. "Let's just go and get outta here." He nodded and the two headed out of the building to go sell.


	5. Chapter 5

BTW GUYS: I AM CHANGING THE AGES OF CRUTCHIE AND EMMA. EMMA WAS ORIGINALLY 16 AND CRUTCHIE WAS 17 BUT I DON'T WANT CRUTCHIE TO BE THAT OLD SO HE NOW JUST TURNED 16 AND EMMA IS ALMOST 16. SORRY!

Three days went by and selling papers was pretty easy. The Delancey Brothers were always there in the morning so Emma would buy hers quickly so that they wouldn't notice her, but other than that everything was fine. The weather was cool and crisp and everyone was out and about wanting newspapers. Although he didn't show it, Crutchie was worried about what would happen if the Delanceys noticed Emma and he swore to himself that he would never let them take her.

Still just like they always did, every day they would meet each other at the fountain and walk home together. One day while Emma was waiting a bench she saw Jack talking with a girl. "Who's that?" Emma wondered, then she got up and ran over to them. "Hey Jack." She said in her "boy" voice. "Who's this?" Jack cleared his throat and said, "Michael this is Katherine." Katherine smiled, "How are you?" she asked Emma. "I'm fine." She replied.

"What are you doin?" Jack asked Emma. "I'm just waiting for Crutchie." She said. Jack nodded. "Ok, well um see you later." He said as he looked at Katherine. "Wow," thought Emma. "They are heads over heels for each other." She shook her head ad was about to head back to her bench when she saw Crutchie hobbling over. "Dang!" he said shaking his head. "How do you always get done way before me?" "Because I'm better at selling newspapers than you." She retorted. "You know what?" he said shaking a finger at her. "One of these days I'm gonna beat you here." Emma laughed, "Not gonna happen!" she said playfully.

They began to walk back when Emma piped up. "Guess what?" she said. "Jack likes somebody!" Crutchie shook his head in belief. "Jack?" he asked. "Our Jack?" "Yep!" Emma said gleefully. "Her name is Katherine and they were walking past the fountain together." Crutchie pretended to wipe away a tear. "Our little Jack is growing up so fast!" he wailed trying to sound dramatic. They both cracked up and headed back to the rooftop.

That night was breezy and there were many stars that could be seen. Jack had already come back and Emma and Crutchie had been waiting to give him a hard time and mess with him. But Jack just shrugged it off pretending he didn't know what they were talking about and went to sleep. It was dark out and Emma was leaning on the railing when Crutchie joined her. She sighed happily, "This is perfect." She breathed. "No one hunting you down. No being stuck inside," she said. "No one….. No one trying to hurt you." Before Crutchie could respond she turned quickly and gave him a huge hug catching him by surprise. "Thank you." She murmured into his chest. "Thank you so much." Crutchie wrapped his arm without the crutch in it around her. "You're welcome." He said. "She's right," he thought as he held her in his embrace. "This is perfect."


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning was cold and Emma slept in a bit later and Crutchie got up first. He was glad to be up first because he had some thinking to do. He climbed down the ladder and was hobbling out to the street thinking about Emma. Her name was associated with a warm fuzzy feeling that he couldn't describe. Whenever he looked at her he couldn't help but stare into her big brown eyes and couldn't think straight. "What's wrong with you Crutchie?" he wondered as he continued down the street. "She's just a really great friend."

He stopped and picked up bagels and because of the cold weather he decided to get some coffee and tea too. When he got back up to the rooftop both Emma and Jack were awake and Emma was using a bucket full of water to wash everyone's blankets. "Thanks for the breakfast Crutchie." Emma said as she continued working. He handed everyone their bagels and said, "But that's not all. In honor of our cold weather everyone gets a warm beverage." He reached into his bag and pulled out a coffee for Jack and a tea for Emma and handed it to them. Jack got down on his knees and pretended to worship him. "Thank you Lord Almighty for Crutchie." He shouted. "Crutchie bowed, "Thank you.  
"Thank you." He said as Emma laughed.

They all sat around eating their bagels and finishing up their drinks while Emma hung up the blankets to dry. After they were all finished with their breakfast they climbed down the ladder and headed to go buy their newspapers. As they were walking Crutchie said, "You know what? Today I am going to finish selling my newspapers first and beat you to the fountain." Emma let out a fake groan. "Not this again!" she said playfully. "Crutchie, there is no way that you are going to beat me." Jack laughed and Crutchie turned to him. "So Jack are you going to spend your day walking around with Miss Katherine?" he said saying Katherine really loud so that everyone could hear. Jack's face went red and Emma and Crutchie high fived as they made their way to the newspaper building.

Just like usual they were around 4th place in line and stood around for a while waiting for everyone else to show up. The line final started moving with Weasel taking the money and the Delanceys handing out the newspapers. When it was Emma's turn to buy hers she said in her boy voice, "Twenty papers please." She handed Weasel her money and Morris smirked and handed her the papers. She walked away as fast as she could to Crutchie who had a worried look on his face. "They're both looking over here." He said gesturing to the Delanceys. She looked over to see them both looking at her and smiling but she shook it off. "They're probably just laughing at how small I am." She said shrugging. "I don't know." Said Crutchie feeling uneasy. "They didn't say anything, did they?" She shook her head and said, "Its fine Crutchie. Come on! Don't you want to beat me today?" she said grinning knowing that would distract him. He smiled and they both walked out the door.

"Ok," said Emma once they were outside. "I'm feeling nice and I'm gonna let you have first pick of where you wanna sell today?" Crutchie thought for a moment. "I want the gardens." He said. "What about you?" "I'm gonna try the harbor see if the crowds out." She said. Crutchie nodded. "See ya!" they both said at the same time heading in the opposite directions.

Emma headed down to the harbor taking a while to get there stopping in front of diners trying to sell to those going in and out. There were a few takers but not enough so she kept moving down to the harbor. She had a love hate relationship with the harbor. She loved the sound of the blue waves crashing against something and the constant buzz of people hustling to and from places. It was also the place the men found her and beat her in the alley. The alley that she thought that she was going to die in. The alley that she remembered her mother in. The alley that Crutchie found her in. She shrugged off those thoughts and breathed in the salty air and the crisp breeze. She worked harder selling than ever before determined to beat Crutchie. She walked all down along the trading post selling to shopkeepers and customers and also out on the pier trying to catch the eye of couples or people basking in the sun. She couldn't help but fell as if she was being watched but shrugged it off thinking about how many people were out and around and how many of them had looked as she passed them. Despite all of her hard work, she didn't finish selling them all until a quarter after 5:00 which was a lot longer than what it usually took her

To get back to the fountain she would have to go two blocks down and around the corner. There was no way she was going to lose. She debated her options between running all the way there or just cutting through the alley. "Suck it up." She thought to herself. "It's just a stupid alley. You want to win don't you?" She headed down the twists and turns of the alley.

It seemed to be the longest alley ever with all of its sharp turns and long paths. She could remember this alley and the events that had happened in it very clearly. She had been on her own for three days and had spent every night someplace new like a bench or under a tree. But it had started to get so cold at night that she thought that she would try an alley. She was at the harbor all day just wandering around and was entering in the alley when a pair of large cold hands dragged her in from behind and threw her against a wall. There were two of them and they just kept on punching and kicking her until they just decided to leave her there for dead.

Emma shook off those memories and continued down this maze of an alley until she heard a rustling from up ahead. Then two figures emerged from behind a dumpster. It was Uncle Morris and Uncle Oscar. "Well, well, well Morris. What is we got heres?" said Uncle Oscar smugly. "You was right Oscar. The little tramp would come through here." Said Uncle Morris with a vile grin that showed his disgusting teeth. "All we had to do was follow her."

Emma started to panic but tried to play it cool. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said in her guy voice. "My name is Michael." "We know it's you Emma." Uncle Oscar said with a sneer. "I thought we finished you in the alley last time." He looked at Morris and then back at her. "We'll just have to make sure we finish the job this time." Then they grabbed her.


	7. Chapter 7

The Delancey brothers pinned her against the wall and just started swinging. This was the same as last time except now they were swinging with a passion. It was just a barrage of punches to her gut and face until she final fell to the grimy cement floor, her hat falling to the side, and her long brown hair uncovered. Morris delivered a kick to the chest and she crumpled into a small ball whimpering and moaning in pain. They continued kicking her until finally after what seemed like forever they stopped. Oscar pulled her up to her feet by her hair and put his arm against her chest. She tried to squirm and wriggle out of his grasp to run away but it was no use. He was too strong and she was too weak. "You're not going anywhere sweetheart." He whispered into her ear. His breath smelled like alcohol and cigars and she spit on his face. He wiped his face and then with the same hand slapped her across the cheek.

"Morris!" he muttered. "Let's end this once and for all." Morris reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. Emma stifled a gasp and tried to scream, "Someone help!" Morris got closer and closer to her throat with the knife and Emma was about to give up hope when someone at the end of the alley yelled, "Hey!" It was Crutchie.

Oscar laughed and Morris let the arm with the knife in his hand drop. "Well lookie here," said Oscar sneering. "If it ain't poor old cripple coming to save the day, eh Morris?" Crutchie had a stern look on his face. "Let. Her. Go." He said through his teeth. Oscar moved his arm to her throat and started pressing down. Emma's face went red and she gasped trying to take a breath. With one swift movement Crutchie hit Oscar on the side of his head with his crutch causing him to fall and release Emma who also fell to the ground in pain. Morris was about to strike Crutchie when he interrupted him. "I wouldn't do that if I was you." Crutchie said calmly. "Out on the street is Jack, Race, Romeo, and Mush just waiting for me to call them in." He looked at Oscar was trying to stand up but failed. "Boy you think that they were mad when you two took Henry's hat, just imagine how furious they're gonna be when they see what you did to her."

Oscar scrambled to his feet the whole right side of his face red. "Morris, let's get outta here!" They both ran out of the alley in the opposite direction and Crutchie immediately dropped onto his knees next to Emma who had sat up. She threw her arms around him and sobbed into his chest as Crutchie leaned against the wall and just held her. "Shh, it's ok." He whispered while stroking her back. "It's ok, they're gone now and I'm sure the boys are after them as we speak."

She turned her head and sniffled. "H-how did you find me?" she asked as tears poured down her face. Crutchie rested his head on top of hers. "I beat you to the fountain." He said still holding her tight. "I know that there was no way on Earth that that would happen so I knew that somethin must be wrong."

She started to cry again. "They were the ones who left me in the alley the first time too." She said. "They were going to kill me." He knew that and it broke his heart to think about it. He couldn't imagine her not being there when he woke up in the morning or meeting her at the fountain every day. "Thank you." She murmured into his chest. "You saved me." Crutchie smiled a sad smile, "I'll always be there to save you."

Emma nuzzled her head into his chest and was breathing calmly. A few minutes later she fell asleep in his arms right there in that alley. He decided that it would just be best to wait for Jack to come back and carry her so that she didn't have to wake up and walk. He whispered something in her ear that no one else anywhere could hear and kissed the top of her head. Then he leaned back against the wall and watched the clouds move past the full moon.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for not updating sooner! Please leave reviews! More reviews means faster updates!**

Crutchie stayed awake a few more hours just thinking until Jack came back to see Emma sleeping soundly on top of him. He laughed but when he saw the bruises his face immediately went red with anger. He had never admitted it but Crutchie was pretty sure that Jack thought of Emma as a little sister. "We caught 'em Crutchie." He said as he bent down too pick up Emma who was sleeping like a rock. "Got 'em real good too. But seeing what they did to her, it makes me wish we had just tossed 'em in the harbor."

They walked out of the alley and back to the rooftop without saying a word. "So I guess the secret's out that she's a girl then." Crutchie stated. Jack nodded, "Yeah, but I guess there's no sayin' that a girl can't be a newsie. All the boys will watch out for her, she'll be fine." They finally reached the ladder to the rooftop and Jack gently put Emma over his shoulder and began to climb. Crutchie followed and went up one rung at time like he always did.

When he reached the top he saw that Jack had already laid Emma down on her mat and draped her blankets over her. Crutchie hobbled over to his own mat and laid down gazing at the stars and Jack did the same. They laid there for a while when Jack said, "Oh and Crutchie, nice hit to the head on Oscar by the way. When we found 'em he was stumbling 'round in a daze." Crutchie reached over for his crutch and held it in the air. "This things gotta come in handy somehow right?" They both laughed and then were quiet.

Awhile later, Crutchie could here Jack's snores. He sat up and looked over at Emma who appeared at ease and Crutchie hoped that she was having a good dream. He finally laid back down and rolled over on his side, gazing out at the street which were bare with nothing but the light of the dingy street lamps on the sidewalks and the looming silhouettes of the buildings. Finally all of that exhaustion of selling papers and hunting for Emma caught up to him and he fell asleep.

He woke up later that night when it was still pitch black out and there were stars in the sky. He heard a slight moan behind him and turned to look over at Emma, she looked pained and she was breathing heavily. Crutchie crawled over and gently shook her awake. Her eyes were huge and scared and she immediately flinched and brought her hands to her face. When she saw that it was only Crutchie she relaxed and apologized. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I thought you were…." She looked out at the streets. "Someone else."

He opened his arms and she crawled into his lap and snuggled up next to him. "It's ok now." He said wrapping her in his arms. "They can't get you here." She nodded and rested her head on his chest. "I see them every time I close my eyes." She whispered, then she shivered. "I was having a nightmare that the Delanceys trapped me and you in that alley." A tear streamed down her face. "They were beating you and forcing me to watch."

Crutchie held her tighter. "That's not going to happen." He said and pushed the hair out of her face. Emma nodded. "I know," she said her voice innocent and vulnerable. "I've lost a lot of people Crutchie. My mom, my old friends, and my baby sister when she died of pneumonia, I just..." she looked up into his eyes. "I just don't wanna lose you too."

Crutchie stared into her brown eyes. "I don't wanna lose you either Em." He whispered and kissed the top of her head on top of her brown curls. "Try to get some sleep." He said as he released her from his embrace. He crawled back over to his mat and laid down, she did the same. He laid on his back for a while his thin blankets offering no warmth to the cold air. "Hey Crutchie?" Emma's timid voice asked. "Can I move my mat next to yours? It makes me feels safe." "Sure." He whispered back. He was glad to know that he made her feel safe. She got up and dragged her mat and her blanket over next to his, laid down slowly making sure she didn't hit one of her bruises on the ground, and curled up next to him.

She reached for his hand, "Crutchie," she said sounding a little worried. "Your hand is freezing." She draped her blanket across his body too. Then she laid her head back down on her pillow. "Good night Crutchie." She said yawning. "I'll see you in the morning." And then just like that she fell asleep with his cold hand in her small one.

"She's too young to have to go through this." He thought to himself. "We all are. She's only fifteen and her mom has died, her uncles beat her, and she was almost beaten to death in an alley twice." He looked at her face with all of its bruises and a large cut on her forehead, probably from brass knuckles. He winced just thinking about it. Crutchie had been on the other side of those brass knuckles himself once but it had been on his back, not his face. He found himself getting angry and had to remind himself that she was ok. "She's right in front of you." He thought to himself. "As long as you protect her, she's not going anywhere." He finally relaxed and watched her body rise and fall with each steady breath she took. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, "Good night Emma." He whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay for those who may have missed the note on chapter 5, I changed Emma and Crutchie's ages. Emma was originally 16 but is now 15. Crutchie had just turned 17 but I want to make it that he just turned 16. Sorry for any confusion! Please review!**

Crutchie woke up the next morning to Emma still holding his hand. He smiled and silently thanked her for sharing her blanket with him. Last night had been freezing and the extra blanket had done a world of good. He stood up and put his boots on, ready to go get breakfast. He looked at Emma's sleeping figure and draped one of his blankets over her body and then walked over and draped the other one over Jack.

Then he grabbed his crutch and went down the ladder to get breakfast. He headed out onto the street and decided that instead of getting bagels he was going to change it up and get croissants. When he reached the rooftop he saw that Jack was sitting up and stretching but that Emma was still asleep. "Huh." Said Crutchie as he handed Jack his croissant. "She's still sleeping. Should I wake her up?"

Jack shook his head. "Nah," he said. "Let da poor kid sleep. She went through a lot yesterday." Crutchie nodded and sat down to eat his croissant. When he was done he wiped the crumbs off his pants and looked at Jack who was looking at Emma. "Maybe you should wake her up." He said with a hint of worry in his voice. "It ain't like 'er to still be sleepin."

Crutchie hobbled over toward her mat and got down on his knees and put his hand on the top of her back to shake her awake. "Her back is kinda sticky." He said over his shoulder to Jack. He pulled the blanket down and gasped, the back of her shirt had blood all over it. Jack heard Crutchie and ran over to Emma. He ran his hands through his hair. "They got 'er real bad." He said.

"How could I not have noticed Jack?!" Crutchie cried. "I was holding her last night, how could I not have seen this?" Jack put his hands on the poor boy's shoulders. "It was dark out Crutch." He said calmly. "You couldn't have seen this. Besides, it's nothing to be worryin' bout. Just a little blood that's all." Emma rolled over and shrieked and jumped back seeing the two boys leaning over her.

"Sorry." She said her voice weak. "You guys scared me." "Sorry Em," said Crutchie. "I came to wake you up but…" he held his hand up for Emma to see. "Your back kindas got some blood on it." She winced when Jack moved her shirt to look at her back. "It stung a little bit last night but I was just thinkin' that it was sore." She said with her head down, her voice sounding tired. Her back was a mess, Crutchie and Jack could see bruises, gashes, and long, medium sized raw red stripes.

Crutchie pulled her shirt back down to cover it up. "It was a belt." She said still looking at the ground and shivering. The boys could tell that she was on the verge of crying. Crutchie picked up the blanket and wrapped it around her. Then something surprising happened- Jack hugged her. Crutchie had only seen Jack hug two people, Crutchie himself and Katherine. Jack was a tough guy and didn't like to be touched. So he knew that Jack really felt for Emma and that he thought of her as family.

Emma finally pulled away from Jack's embrace and wiped away a tear. "So what do I do?" she asked sniffling. "Just clean it?" Crutchie nodded. "That's what we usually do." He said. "Jack, will you hand me the water bucket and a rag?" "Sure." Jack called, he lugged the bucket over to where they were sitting and then walked over to the clothes line and tossed Crutchie a rag.

Crutchie dipped the rag in the water and wrung it out so that it was just damp. "This might sting a little." He said. Emma nodded, "I've had to do this before," she said sighing. "This isn't the first time." He dabbed the cloth on her back and she winced. He felt terrible that it was hurting her but he continued to dab her back with it. She began to relax and lowered her shoulders. "That feels a lot better." She said. "Thanks Crutchie." "You're welcome." He said. Then he whispered in her ear. "Between you and me, I kinda have to do this for Jack a lot. You know him, he's always pickin' fights with people twice his size." She laughed and leaned back into him.

"I am really tired." She said yawning and shutting her eyes. Crutchie laughed, "Why don't you stay home today?" he told her. "You could use a break." Before she could say anything Jack intervened, "No, there is no debate about it," he said. "Em, you're staying home." She didn't argue just murmured, "Okay." And crawled under her blankets on top of her mat. Jack laced up his boots and said to Emma, "Alright Emma, don't go anywhere and feel better soon, kay?" Emma sat up and nodded and Jack headed down the ladder. Crutchie hobbled over toward Emma's mat and crouched down next to her.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" he asked her with a concerned look on his face. "Maybe I should stay here with you. Make sure nothin happens." Emma laughed, "Crutchie don't worry about it," she said softly, still sounding a little bit weak and tired. "I'll be fine, mostly just sleeping the day away." "I know but-'' Crutchie protested, but before he could continue Emma leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine Crutchie." She whispered his face pink. Then she laid back down on her mat and pulled thee blankets up to her chin. Crutchie hobbled toward the ladder, "Bye Emma." He said as he lowered himself onto the ladder. "Bye Crutchie," he heard her say, "I'll you later." Crutchie went down the ladder one rung at a time with a huge grin on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

**If anyone gives me a review and an idea I will try to incorporate that idea into the story! **

"I love you." Those had been the words that Crutchie had said when he was holding Emma in the alley. Those three words were also the ones that he had whispered to her last night as she fell asleep holding his hand. They were also on his brain when Emma kissed him just a few minutes ago. He climbed down the ladder in a happy daze and when he reached the bottom Jack gave him a knowing look. "You is heads over heels in love with dat goil, ain't ya?" he said. Crutchie's face went red. "Pst, I don't know what you is talkin about Jack." He said quickly as he hobbled out of the alley not wanting to Jack to see his face.

Jack ran to catch up with him and then poked him in the side with his fingers. "My little brudda is growin' up." Jack teased as he pretended to wipe a tear away from his eye. "Ah lay off me Jackie," Crutchie said as he continued to hobble along. "We is just friends." Jack shook his head. "No way pal," he said. "You love Emma like I love Katherine. I've seen the way you look at her, you would do anything for her." "Jack, I would do anything for you too." Said Crutchie as he slowed down, tired of trying to keep in front of Jack. "I would do the same for you Crutch." Said Jack knowingly. "But we is bruddas, you is lovers."

"Whateva you say Jack." Crutchie muttered, wondering why it was taking such a long time to get there. Then finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached Pulitzer's building and went inside to buy their newspapers. Because of all the commotion this morning they were late and had to wait in the long of newsies, eager to get selling. Crutchie and Jack looked at the front of line to see who was selling them their papers this morning. It was just Weasel- no Delancey brothers.

"You must have gotten em' real good, huh Jack?" said Crutchie. Jack nodded, "Hopefully they won't be heres for a little while." He said with a smirk. Just then Race, Romeo, and Mush walked over with their bundle of newspapers. "So," said Race with a cigar stickin' out the corner of his mouth. "How's the goil?" Crutchie gave them a half shrug. "She's pretty tough but they got her pretty good." He said. "Poor kid," said Mush. "A beatin by the Delanceys is never good. I hope she feels better." Crutchie nodded, "I'll tell her you said so." Then the three boys strolled away off to sell their papers.

Jack and Crutchie finally reached the front of the line, bought their newspapers, and headed outside. "I'll see ya later Crutch," Jack said to him as they set out to go their separate ways. Crutchie started to walk away when Jack ran back up to him. "I forgot to tell you," he said. "Katherine and I are going out tonight so I won't see you till tomorrow, kay?" Crutchie nodded, "Yeah that's fine." Crutchie said as he continued on his way. "See ya tomorrow!" he called over his shoulder. Then he set off to go sell newspapers.

Meanwhile, Emma was up on the rooftop tossing and turning around on her mat. Her whole body ached but at least, thanks to Crutchie, her back didn't sting as much anymore. But she was restless, other than waking up once last night she slept like a rock. And she slept in two more hours than what she usually did. "Why do I feel so awake?" she thought to herself. "Is it because… no it can't be. That's not why, right?" she thought. "It's not because I kissed him, is it?" She rolled onto her side. "Or is it?"

After another half hour wondering why she felt this way she heard someone climbing their way up the ladder. It was obviously a person who had never climbed the ladder before, she kept hearing clanging noises. She would have laughed but one, her ribs hurt, and two, what if it was the Delanceys here to finish the job?

This terrifying thought sent her hiding under her blankets trying to look as still as possible. The clanging noise got closer and closer until they stopped for good. She held her breath and could hear her heart pounding. "Emma?" A feminine voice called. "Are you here?"

Emma timidly pulled the blankets down and sat up to see who it was. It was Katherine.


	11. Chapter 11

"Katherine? What are you doing here?" Emma asked. Katherine walked over to Emma's mat and sat down. "Jack told me what happened with the Delanceys and how you're really a girl." Katherine said. "I thought I could keep you company for a little while." She really looked at Emma's face taking in every bruise and cut with the same kindness in her eyes that Emma saw in Jack and Crutchie's.

"How are you feeling?" Katherine asked her. Emma shrugged but regretted doing so. "My whole body just hurts ya know?" she said to Katherine. Katherine shook her head. "No. No I don't know." Katherine said gently holding Emma's hand. "I have never had to go through what you've had to go through. I'm sorry that this happened to you Emma."

Emma dropped her eyes to the ground. "But let's talk about something else." Said Katherine trying to change the subject. "It's freezing up here!" Emma laughed and nodded. "It's even worse at night. I wish we had a chimney or something." Katherine thought for a moment and then her face lit up. "What about a fire pit?" she asked. Emma cocked her head to the side, "A fire pit?" she asked sounding confused.

"Yeah!" said Katherine growing excited. "You take rocks and make them into a circle and gather wood to make a fire. We could make one and you could use it at night to keep warm." Emma's face perked up. "That sounds great!" she said. She took off her blankets and put on her boots. The two climbed down the ladder and looked in the alley for rocks but ceased to find any. "We could get some from the planters in front of my apartment." Said Katherine. Emma nodded and climbed back up to the rooftop to get her bag to carry them.

They walked down the streets just talking and Emma enjoyed every second of it. She absolutely loved Jack and Crutchie but it was nice to have some girl time. They finally reached Katherine's apartment building and they picked out several good sized rocks and put them in Emma's bag. "That should be good." Katherine said wiping the dirt of her hands. She shivered and said, "Why not we go up to my apartment and make some tea?"

"That sounds great." Said Emma happy to get out of the cold. She grabbed her bag which was now full of rocks and the two girls headed up to Katherine's apartment. Her apartment was exactly as Emma would have imagined it with a desk, bookshelves, and a typewriter. Katherine walked over to the stove and put a kettle on to boil some water. Emma shivered still cold from being outside. Katherine looked worried, "Emma, why don't you go take a bath? It might help you feel better." Emma nodded, "Ok." She said.

Katherine led her to the bathroom, turned on the water, and handed her a towel. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." She said shutting the door behind her. Emma stripped of her shirt and pants and stepped into the warm bath and pulled the bath curtain closed. Living on the rooftop, they were able to bathe but not like this. They usually just scrubbed themselves with a wet rag and a bar of soap. Emma worked out the knots in her hair and covered her whole body with a bar of soap that smelled like vanilla.

When she was done she pulled the drain out and grabbed her towel. Neatly folded on the table next to the tub was a Button down long sleeve white shirt and a royal blue skirt. "Katherine must have set these in here for me." Thought Emma as she slipped them on and tucked the shirt in. She hung the towel up and walked into the kitchen where Katherine was pouring tea into two mugs. She turned and looked at Emma. "Great!" she said. "They fit perfectly. Those were way too small for me." She handed her a mug with steaming hot tea and then placed cream and sugar in front of her. Emma sprinkled in some sugar and braided her while she waited for the tea to cool.

Katherine took a sip from her own mug. "So how is living on the rooftop and being a newsie?" "I actually love it." Said Emma stirring her tea. "When I lived with my mom and my um, my uncles, I was always forced to stay inside and there were so many rules and strict punishments. Being a newsie and living with Jack and Crutchie, I'm free. And they care more about me than my family ever did." She took a breath, "And I honestly think I care more about them than I ever did about my family." Emma took a sip of her tea which had finally cooled down. Then she looked at the clock. "I should probably go," she said with a shy smile. "The boys will be back soon and Jack kinda told me not to leave the rooftop."

Katherine laughed, "That sounds like Jack, always the protector." She said standing up. "Hold on one second." She said before disappearing into her room. She came back with Emma's bag which now not only had the rocks but a couple of skirts and shirts along with her old newsie boy clothes. Emma gave her a confused look. "They're too small for me." Said Katherine. "You should take them." Emma threw her arms around Katherine. "Thank you so much." Said Emma. "I love the boys but it's nice to be able to talk to a girl!" Katherine laughed. "Anytime!" she said opening the door for Emma. "Come over anytime!" she called after her. "I will!" Emma called over her shoulder. And then she set off home to the rooftop.

Meanwhile Crutchie was standing on the corner trying to sell his last paper. He had been thinking about Emma all day and was usually excited to finish selling his papers and meet her at the fountain, but now the excitement was gone and he was just anxious to get home. A fancy lookin' lady began making her way around the corner and Crutchie made his way over to her. "Pardon me ma'am," he said clearing his throat. "Would you like to buy a newspaper?" The lady gave him a sad smile. "Sure thing honey." She said as she dug a coin out of her purse and handed it to him. Crutchie handed her the paper and quickly began to hobble home.

He finally made it to the alley and began to climb up the ladder one rung at a time holding onto his crutch. He was halfway up when he saw Emma lean her face over the rail to see who it was. Her face lit up, "Hey Crutchie!" she yelled. "Hey." He called back and continued to climb. When he reached the rooftop and saw Emma he was stunned. "Wow," He said. "Geez Emma, you look really pretty." Her cheeks turned pink and she smiled. "Thanks Crutchie." She responded. He looked at the circle of rocks with wood in the center. "What's that?" he asked her. "It's a fire pit." She said. "Katherine and I made it so that we can stay warm at night."

Crutchie nodded. "Good, it's getting cold at night." He set his bag down next to his mat and leaned against the railing. "Well," he said. "Jack's gonna be out with Katherine tonight. Why not we go out and get something for dinner?" he said nervously. Emma smiled, "That sounds like a great idea!" she said. "Let me just grab my jacket and let's go." She walked over to her mat and picked up a brown jacket as Crutchie started down the ladder. She put it on and then started down the ladder herself. When she reached the bottom and saw Crutchie leaning on his crutch waiting for her she asked him, "So where do you wanna go?" He smiled, "I have an idea." Then the two walked out of the alley together holding hands.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry about not being able to update as often, teachers just love to give children work and tests to study for. If you have any ideas that you would love to happen in the story message me or a leave a review and I will try to incorporate it!**

"Alright," said Emma. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" The two had been walking and were now in Central Park. It was beautiful outside this time of year in late November. The trees were different colors and there was always a cool breeze. "I thought that we could get some sandwiches and then sit down by the lake." Said Crutchie as he continued to hobble along down the sidewalk. Even with one bum leg, he could walk faster than most people. "That sounds great!" said Emma. "Sandwiches are my favorite!" Crutchie smiled. "I know."

Emma's heart swooned. "That's so sweet that he remembered!" she thought to herself. They stopped at a stand and both ordered turkey sandwiches to go. Emma carried the bag with the sandwiches and potato chips and the two walked to the lake just talking. "So how are you feeling?" asked Crutchie. He had been worried about her all day and wanted to make sure that this wasn't too much for her. She shrugged, "I'm just a little sore." She said. "The bruises still hurt a little but that's it. I heal pretty fast." "That's good." Said Crutchie. "The bruises do kinda look like they hurt."

They finally reached the lake and they sat down on the grass and took out their food. "So," said Crutchie after taking a bite of his sandwich. "What are you going to do tomorrow? I mean about… you know, selling papers?" Emma swallowed a bite of her sandwich and set it down on a napkin. "I'm not too sure." She said looking at Crutchie. He could see traces of fear in her brown eyes. "I haven't really thought about it, I've been pushing it out of my mind. I guess there's no use in hiding that I'm a girl. I mean most of all the boys know and my uncles know so what's the point of trying to hide it?" Crutchie nodded.

"I agree." He said. "The Delanceys weren't dere this morning though. Jack and the boys must've gotten 'em good." Emma laughed softly. "They deserve it." Then they both took a bite of their sandwiches. The sun was starting to set and it looked beautiful over the lake. A boy was running down the sidewalk lighting the lampposts before it got too dark.

Crutchie and Emma finished their sandwiches and Emma got up to throw the trash away. When she got back she sat down and looked out over the lake and sighed. "Hey, are you ok?" Crutchie asked. Emma looked at him with her big brown eyes. "I'm scared Crutchie." She said. "They know where we are. And what if they come back? What if they go after you and Jack? If anything happened to you guys because of me I would never forgive myself. I know I shouldn't be scared but-'' Crutchie reached out and put his hands around Emma's head. "Hey," he said softly. "You have every right to be scared. But it's gonna be ok." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. "You don't need to be worried about me and Jack. We'll be fine, you will be too." He lightly rubbed the bruise on her cheek with his thumb. "I'll protect you."

Emma rested her head in his hands. "Thank you Crutchie." She whispered. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you for everything, if you hadn't been there last night…" she paused and looked at the ground. "I wouldn't be sitting here right now." Crutchie tilted her head up so that she was looking at him. "I'll always be there for ya." He said softly. "I promise. I love you Em." Then he leaned in and kissed her, holding her close trying to make sure that no one would ever hurt her again.

They finally broke away and the two laid down the grass looking up at the now starry skies trying to pick out constellations. Emma yawned, "We should probably head back before it gets too late." She said sounding sleepy. "Manhattan isn't exactly the best place to be roaming around at night." Crutchie nodded in agreement and they both stood up and began walking home.

They reached the alley to the rooftop and made their way up the ladder with Emma going first and Crutchie following, going up one rung at a time. When he reached the top, he saw Emma kneeling over the fire pit trying to create a flame. Crutchie laughed at her failed attempts and she stuck her tongue out at him. Right as she was about to give up there was a spark and the dry wood caught on fire. With a proud look on her face, she plopped down her mat satisfied with her accomplishment.

Crutchie held up his hands in surrender and sat down on his mat to take off his boots. Emma laid down on her mat and Crutchie did the same. "Hey Emma?" he said. Emma turned onto her other side to face him. "Yeah?" she said, her brown eyes heavy with sleep. "This fire pit," he said. "Is was a great idea." Emma smiled. "Thanks."

She reached out for his hand and held it. "I love you Crutchie." She whispered. Crutchie smiled. "I love you too Em." And just like that she was out cold. Crutchie chuckled softly to himself. "Goodnight Emma." He whispered leaning forward to kiss her forehead. And then a few minutes later he fell asleep watching her back rise and fall with every breath she took.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! It's going to be a short chapter today. I just wanted some connection between Jack and Emma. Please review and feel free to leave ideas, I will gladly try to incorporate them. Don't forget to seize the day!**

The next morning was cold and the fire had died out late that night. Emma was awake first and woke up looking at Crutchie's sleeping face. She smiled and got up to restart the fire. Unlike last night, it was easier to light because the wind wasn't blowing as hard. "Huh." She thought. "Jack's still not back. I wonder if he's at Katherine's." She shrugged and climbed down the ladder to go pick up breakfast.

She reached the street and set off to the farmer's market to see what they had. It was pretty cold and the little wind that there was, was cold and nippy so she started to run to get her blood moving. Emma was more of a sprinter and took off down the street. She finally slowed down and when she reached the corner she was short of breath. She turned around to see how far she had ran. When she turned back around she collided with a man. "Hey watch where you're-'' she started, but then she saw who it was. It was Jack.

He looked concerned. "Emma are you's okay?" he asked worried. "You're out of breath! Is somebody following you?" Emma shook her head. "No," she told him. "I was just trying to stay warm." Jack's face relaxed and he smiled. "Yeah," he said. "It is pretty cold out Smartmouth. (That's what the newsies had been calling her ever since she had sassed Weasel on her first day.)" Hey, you haven't gotten breakfast already have ya?" Emma shook her head. "I was on my way." She replied. He grinned, "No need!" he said holding up a white paper bag. "Katherine got up early and made 'em cinnamon rolls."

"Yum!" said Emma as the two began to walk back to the rooftop. "Did you have fun with Katherine last night?" she asked him. "Yeah." He said with a big grin on his face. "We went to the theater last night." He gave a happy sigh. "I really do like her. But don't you go around telling the boys that, you hear me Smartmouth?" Emma stuck her nose in the air. "Maybe I won't." she said with a devilish grin. "But maybe I will!"

Before she could say anything else, Jack grabbed the newsie's cap from her head and took off down the street. "Hey!" she yelled and took off after him, she could hear him laughing. "Man he's fast." She thought as she chased him down the street. She was right on his heels when he stopped right in front of her causing her to run straight into his back. He laughed again and put her head underneath his arm so that she was stuck. "Jack Kelly! Let me go this instant!" she demanded trying to sound firm but giggling.

He let her go and tossed her back her hat which she gladly put back on. He chuckled to himself and said to Emma, "You know Smartmouth, you're a pretty cool kid." Emma's heart swelled with pride, something like that especially coming from Jack meant a lot. "Thanks." She said as they continued making their way to the rooftop. They reached the ladder and Jack went up first. No questions asked, he was faster.

When Emma reached the top she saw that Crutchie was awake and that he was adding a log to the fire pit. "Katherine told me about this." Said Jack as he handed Crutchie his cinnamon roll. "She was pretty hyped up 'bout it." He handed Emma her cinnamon roll. "Looks good." He said. Emma nodded her head as if to say thank you. Crutchie turned and looked at her. "So," he said after swallowing a bite of cinnamon roll. "You decided on what you wanna do about bein' a newsie? You gonna be a boy or a girl?" She set her cinnamon roll down on her lap. "I'll probably still wear my boy clothes but I won't pretend to be a boy. There's no use tryin to fool 'em anymore." Jack nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." He said wiping his mouth. With that the boys finished their cinnamon rolls, Crutchie laced up his boots, and they climbed down the ladder.

Emma changed out of Katherine's skirt and pulled on her newsboy clothes. She threw on her hat and rather than tucking her long dark hair up, she let it fall down her back. She was tired of pretending to be someone she wasn't. Then she grabbed her bag and headed down the ladder, ready to seize the day.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys, I'm not so sure how many more chapters I'm going to do. I'm really looking for ideas to incorporate in the story. Huge shout out to Biankes, Justlookatme, and newsiefan5678. They have been a huge help and you should definitely read their stories. Remember to leave a review! **

Jack and Crutchie were waiting for her when she reached the bottom of the ladder and they all headed out onto the street together. The wind was blowing something fierce and Emma pulled her jacket closer to her body to keep warm. They seemed to reach the newspaper distribution center in no time at all and Emma found herself getting scared. "What are my uncles gonna do?" she thought anxiously. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, especially Jack and Crutchie."

Crutchie must have noticed that she was scared because he reached out and held her hand. She immediately relaxed a little and Crutchie smiled. He didn't say anything but his chocolate brown eyes said it all. "I'm here for you."

Jack held open the door for them and when he saw them holding hands he smiled and whispered to Crutchie, "I told ya." Crutchie jokingly punched his arm, "Shut up." He told him. Jack just smirked and punched him back. Emma let go of his hand and the two stood in line. No sign of the Delancey brothers. Crutchie turned and started talking to the newsboy in front of him and Emma took out her coins to pay Weasel when it was her turn.

"Hey Smartmouth!" a boy's voice called out from the door, it was Race with Mush following him. Usually Race was loud and making jokes, but today he seemed reserved and soft. "How are ya feelin?" he asked her. "Jack told me the Delanceys got ya pretty bad." Emma shrugged her shoulders. "I'm kinda sore." She said. "But the bruises look worse than what they are though. Ya know what I mean?" Race and Mush nodded. "Yep," said Mush. "The Delanceys pack a hard punch but it's usually gone after a day or two."

Weasel blew his whistle and Emma and the boys turned to look at him. "Newsies!" he shouted. "Get in line, I haven't got all day!" Emma turned back around to face Race and Mush. "Alright." Said Race. "We'll see ya laters I guess." He took her hat from her head like how Jack did and ruffled her hair. Emma grabbed her hat back and put in on her head and the two boys turned to get in line. "Take care of yourself Emma." Race called to her over his shoulder. Emma smiled, it was nice to know they cared.

There was still no sign of her uncles and Emma walked up to the counter and paid for her papers. She headed out the door onto the street where Crutchie was waiting for her. They began to head in their general direction. "So where all do you's think ya think you gonna be?" he asked her. Emma stopped to tie her shoe. When she stood back up she said, "I think I'm just gonna stay around the corner by the fountain." Crutchie nodded. "That's a good place. Out in the open, lots of people walking by." "Where are you gonna be?" she asked him. He shrugged. "The usual street. Maybe head down to the farmers' market for a little while."

They reached a corner and they stopped. "I'll meet you at your spot today, ok?" he said. "And if you need anything, the boys are everywhere." Emma laughed. "Crutchie I'll be fine." She said lightly. "You worry about me too much!" He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "It's just cause I don't want anything to happen to ya." Then he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see ya later." He called over his shoulder as he hobbled away. "Bye!" Emma called back as she walked briskly to the fountain. She smiled as she walked, despite the cold air, the cheek that he had kissed stayed warm.


	15. Chapter 15

Emma reached the fountain and immediately began selling. She wanted to make sure that she sold them all to make up for not selling the day before. She wondered how people would treat a girl Newsie. "I'm sure there are other girl Newsies." She thought to herself. "Maybe in Brooklyn or Queens." But she shrugged it off, morning rush was starting.

She quickly learned that being a girl trying to sell papers had its pros and cons. She was able to have more women buy from her and give her spare change, but not all of the men wanted to buy from a girl and avoided her. It balanced out and she got into the same habit as she did when she pretended to be a boy.

She had sold about half of her newspapers by 1:00pm and decided to stop and take a break for lunch. She folded the remaining newspapers and put them in her bag, then she began to look for a place to grab a bite for lunch. Emma was walking down the street, entertaining herself by kicking a rock, when she heard a voice from up ahead.

"Why don't you just leave me alone, huh?" the voice said trying to sound stern. "I didn't do nothin to you!" The voice sounded familiar like it belonged to a newsie and Emma jogged over to see what was going on. She turned to look inside an alley and saw that the voice belonged to Romeo, a fifteen year old newsie like herself.

He was pressed up against the dirty brick wall with a group of older boys laughing and surrounding him. One of the boys grabbed his bag from him and began to go through it. Romeo tried to grab it back but another boy reached out and punched him in the gut, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Romeo!" she cried running down the alley to him. He sat up clenching his stomach to see Emma, but before he could say anything the boys laughed. "Aww look," sneered the tallest boy who was holding Romeo's bag. "A little girl newsie coming to save the day." The rest of the boys laughed again. Emma tightened her jaw. "Give him back his stuff." Said Emma standing in front of Romeo as he stood up. The boy with the bag got in her face, "Make me." He smirked. He started to turn around to say something to his friends when Emma socked him hard in the nose, making blood go everywhere. He cried out in pain throwing his hands to his face, dropping the bag in the process.

Another boy lunged at her and before she could react, hit her hard in eye. But with her adrenaline pumping it didn't hurt too bad, and she kneed him in the groin. Her attacker let out a moan and dropped to the ground in pain. She quickly grabbed Romeo's bag from the gross cement. "Run Romeo!" she yelled before any of the others could respond. They ran out of the alley and Emma could hear one of the boys shouting, "Hey, they is gettin away!" Emma and Romeo took off down the streets, zigzagging through sidewalks, and running through Central Park until they finally couldn't hear anyone chasing them anymore.

They slowed down to catch their breath and plopped down on a wooden bench. "Are you… ok?" asked Emma in between pants. Romeo leaned back and closed his eyes still trying to catch his breath. "I'm fine." He said after a moment. Emma turned to look at him, "What happened?" she asked. Romeo shrugged his shoulders looking at the ground. "They just likes to pick on kids younger than theys are, you know?" he said. "Boy do I get it..." she muttered to herself. Romeo picked his head up to look at her and he winced. "Yikes." He said looking at her eye which was turning black and blue. "That's pretty bad." he ran his finger across it. "Does it hurt?" he asked. Emma shrugged. "Not too bad." She said. "Probably looks worse than it feels."

"Oh." Said Romeo leaning back up against the bench. The two just sat there for a while, calming down and gathering their thoughts. Then he let out a small laugh, "You are one heck of a girl." He said. Emma cocked her head to the side. "Romeo, what are talking about?" she asked. Romeo gave her a funny look. "All of the girls I know, would never have done what you just did." He said. "They would have just walked away, let me get pummeled. Crutchie's a lucky guy." Emma's ears turned pink. "How did you know about that?" she asked him curiously. Romeo laughed again, "Everyone sees the way you two look at each other. It's obvious you two like one anudda." Then they sat for another minute in silence just thinking.

"Hey," said Romeo finally breaking the silence. "You eaten?" Emma shook her head. "Let's go grab something. My treat, I kinda owe you." Emma smiled. "Sure." They stood up and walked out of the park finding a stand that sold hotdogs and sausages. Romeo got them two sausages and handed one to Emma. "I gotta go.' He said. "These papes ain't gonna sell themselves!"

"See ya." Said Emma as she began walking away. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to see Romeo. "And Emma?" he said, she could see kindness in his eyes. "Thanks." Emma smiled, "No problem." She said. Then they both set out their separate ways to finish selling.

For the rest of the day, selling her papers was hard and come 5:00, she still had a bunch left. "Not every day is the best day." She remembered Jack telling when she was still learning the ropes. "You can't sell 'em all." He had said. "Sometimes… sometimes the headlines just suck." So after trying to sell for another ten minute to no avail, she accepted to defeat and set back to the fountain where Crutchie had said that he would meet her.

When she reached the fountain he was sitting on the iron bench reading one of his papers, he hadn't sold all his either. When he picked his head up and saw her, he smiled. Until he saw her black and blue eye. "What happened?" he asked holding her head with his hands. "Who did this?" He was surprised to see her smile. "I was helping out a newsie in need." She said. "And you don't need to worry, I hit the guy who did it back."

Crutchie smiled and the two stood up, he noticed the newspapers still in her bag. "You didn't sell 'em all either?" he said. Emma shook her head, her dark brown curls bouncing everywhere. Crutchie smiled. "She looks so cute when she does that." He thought. "Not every day is the best day." She said in a deeper voice, trying to sound like Jack. Crutchie laughed and the two began to walk down the street holding hands until they reached the rooftop.

Emma climbed up first followed by Crutchie, and the two were surprised to see Jack and Katherine sitting on Jack's mat together. "Hey." Jack said. "Katherine and I were about to go pick up somethin for dinner, any requests you guys got?" Emma shivered, "Something warm please." She said. "It's pretty chilly out." Katherine giggled. "Agreed!" she said as she stood up and began to climb down the ladder. "Alright guys." Said Jack as he began to climb down the ladder. "Will be back in around half of an hour, got it?" he said. Emma Crutchie nodded, and Jack left. Emma dropped her bag by her mat and leaned on the railing, looking out over the street watching people head home. Crutchie set his bag down and hobbled over next to Emma. She shivered and he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Do you think they'll be back tomorrow?" she asked him softly. It was clear who she was talking about. Her uncles. He held her tighter, "I hope not." He said. She sighed, "I wish they would just leave forever." She whispered. His heart ached at the thought of her being scared and worried and he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Me too Em." He said softly. "Me too."


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey fansies! I just wanted to thank everyone for their reviews, they really mean a lot to me. I also wanted to ask everyone who their favorite Crutchie is. Mine is definitely Zachary Sayle, I love him so much! Letter from the Refuge gets me every time. So leave a review saying who your favorite Crutchie is! **

Thirty minutes later when Jack and Katherine came home with dinner, Emma still had her head on Crutchie's shoulder and he still had his arms around Emma. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but before he could Katherine elbowed him in the ribs. "What?" he muttered rubbing his side. "I wasn't gonna say nothin."

Katherine cleared her throat and Emma picked her head up from Crutchie's shoulder. "So we stopped at the Chinese market and got some chicken and white rice." Said Katherine taking the boxes out of the bag and handing one to everyone. "Ohh." Said Emma. "I love Chinese food."

They all took opened their boxes and an aroma of chicken filled the air. "Alright," asked Jack. "Where are da forks?" The girls giggled. "Jack, you gotta use the chopsticks." Said Emma holding hers in the air. "Like this." She used them to pick up a piece of chicken and popped it in her mouth. Jack and Crutchie looked at each other suspiciously. Crutchie picked his up and tried, but failed at picking up a piece of chicken. Jack picked up his and tried to copy the girls but like Crutchie, failed miserably. The girls started giggling hysterically and Katherine almost fell over.

"Ha ha ha." Jack said sarcastically. "This is harder then it looks." The boys kept on trying but continued to fail as the girls used their chopsticks with ease. Then Crutchie's face lit up, "I got it Jack!" he cried. With that he dropped on of his chopsticks in his lap and used the other chopstick to stab a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. Jack smiled and copied him until they had all finished their chicken. The girls continued to use their chopsticks for their rice but Crutchie and Jack just tipped the box so that the rice would land in their mouths.

Emma set her box down on the ground and rested her head on Crutchie's shoulder, watching Emma and Jack finish theirs. Katherine looked over once more at Jack who was pouring the rest of his rice in his mouth and rolled her eyes. "You are so immature." Katherine said to Jack. With a huge grin on his face he leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Yeah, but ya still love me." Katherine smiled as she stood up to throwaway everyone's boxes. "Ok," she said wiping her hands on the front of her dress. "I had better head home. It getting pretty dark out." Jack stood up. "I'll walk you home." He said following her over to the ladder. "Bye Emma." Called Katherine as she climbed down the ladder. "Bye Crutchie."

Jack waved as he began to climb down and then they were gone. Emma yawned and picked her head up from Crutchie's shoulder. Crutchie smiled, "Ya tired?" he asked her. She nodded and plopped down on her mat. "Me too." He said. "But I'se freezing!" Emma started to get up to start up the fire which was barley burning but Crutchie shooed her away. "I got it I got it." He said. "You just lay down." Emma smiled and sat there watching him. He hobbled over to grab his bag and grabbed the remaining newspapers he had left. "You can grab my papers too." Said Emma from her mat. He reached into her bag and pulled hers out as well.

He set them next to the fire pit and placed another log on top. Then he tucked a handful of the papers around it and they quickly were ablaze. "That's what a headline like that desoives." He said heading toward his mat which was right next to Emma's. He sat down and laid his crutch next to him on the other side and laid down facing Emma. She smiled and went to rub her eye but winced, she had forgotten about the big bruise from earlier that day. Crutchie frowned and reached out to rub her cheek where the bruises from her uncles were fading away.

"Are you ok?" he asked her. "How are ya feelin?" She smiled and lowered his hand to the mat so that she could hold it. "I'm fine Crutchie, I promise." She said her eyelids fluttering as she tried to stay awake. "If something was wrong I'd tell you." He squeezed her hand. "Thank you." He said gently. "I just want you to be ok." She smiled and leaned over to kiss his head. "I love you Crutchie." She said softly. He smiled, "I love you too Em." He whispered. Then Emma's eyelids fluttered and she fell asleep. He grinned and fell asleep watching her calm face and listening to the sounds of the street below.


	17. Chapter 17

At around one am, Crutchie woke up to the sound of crying. He rolled over to his other side to see Emma, sound asleep, crying softly and murmuring something to herself over and over again getting progressively louder. "Please no, please no!" she was begging. Then she began to thrash around, "Please stop, no!" she cried. Crutchie started shaking her shoulders, "Emma!" he said loudly. She woke with a start her eyes huge and filled with terror. When she saw that it was Crutchie, she relaxed and began to calm down.

Crutchie wrapped his arms around her and scooted her towards him. She rested her head on his chest and tried to slow her breathing as he held her tight, tears still streaming down her face. "Shh," he whispered soothingly. "It's ok, Em. They can't get you here." She nodded her head against his chest and listened to the steady breaths he took. "Do you wanna talk 'bout it?" he asked quietly. She sighed and sat up to wipe away tears. "It was just the usual." She said softly. "Back in the alley, the two of us." She took a deep breath. "A-and there are just hundreds of them coming from everywhere and they just kept on beating-'' she stopped as he body shook with sobs.

Crutchie wrapped his arms tightly around her, trying to make her feel safe. Her small relaxed against his and he kissed the top of her head. "You're alright Em." Crutchie said to Emma. Emma looked up at his kind and concerned face. "But you were-'' she started but Crutchie interrupted her. "Emma, look at me." He said slowly. "I'm ok too." She gave him a small smile. "I know." She said. She squeezed his hand, "Thanks." She whispered. He gave her a smile back, "Anytime." He said as he laid back down on his mat.

Emma curled up next to him and he reached over next to her and draped her blankets on top of them as well as his own. "Goodnight Crutchie." Said Emma yawning. Crutchie wrapped her in his arms. "Goodnight Em." He whispered.

She fell asleep pretty quickly like she always did and Crutchie just laid there thinking. He hadn't seen her uncles since that night and he had asked the other newsboys if they had seen them. They hadn't either. He wasn't sure whether or not he should be worried or happy. It pained him every time she had a nightmare, waking up scared and panicked. "She's ok," he thought to himself. "It was just a nightmare. She's still alive and breathing isn't she?" Just at that moment she took a deep breath and sighed causing him to smile. "Yeah, yeah she is." He thought. He hoped for everyone's sake, especially Emma's, that the Delancey brothers wouldn't be returning anytime soon.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys-I'm just gonna be honest with you- this chapter kinda sucks. I was in a real writers block and I just wasn't getting any real inspiration. This is just one of those filler chapters you know? The people who really helped me through were K. Kelly, Justlookatme, and 1monster2. You have got to read their stories, they are amazing! Well hang with me guys and I promise that the next chapter will be better. **

Crutchie woke up pretty early the next morning with his arms still wrapped around Emma. Her breathing was steady and he hoped that after what had happened earlier, that she was finally having a good dream. It was still a bit dark out and he got up from their mat slowly, trying not to wake her up. He succeeded in not waking her and gently placed the blankets back on top of her. She moved a little, snuggled more into the blankets, and fell back asleep.

He looked over at the sleeping Jack and almost burst out laughing. He was twisted up in his blanket with his mouth wide open. He looked like he had fallen asleep mid yawn. Crutchie pulled on his boots, grabbed his crutch, and began descending down the ladder to the street to find something for breakfast. He walked up the street taking in the cold brisk air and finally stopped inside of a small bakery.

Inside the bakery was warm and cozy and it smelled like coffee. He walked over to the display case and saw an assortments of breads and pastries. "Emma would love it here." He thought to himself smiling. By the fountain was another bakery and she would always make him stop to look in the window with her. He purchased three chocolate chip muffins and headed back to the rooftop.

It was beginning to get lighter out and Crutchie could see the sun poking out from behind the tall buildings causing there to be shadows on the sidewalks. Even after he reached the lodging house the sun was still hiding behind the tall buildings, it was as if the sun itself didn't want the day to start. He climbed up to the roof and saw Jack, who still had the same ridiculous look on his face, and Emma, who was awake, with her back to him reading a book that Katherine had given her last night.

He set the bag of muffins down and stood behind Emma putting his hands on her shoulders. She jumped a little and turned around to see who it was. She grinned and playfully hit him on his good leg. "You scared me!" she whispered trying not to wake Jack. Crutchie smiled and helped her up. She put a bookmark in the book and set it down on her mat.

"Whatcha readin?" he asked her as the both leaned on the rail, looking out on the quiet street. "Alice in Wonderland." She said. "I haven't read a book in a long time." She looked over at Crutchie, "Do you like to read?" she asked him. Crutchie shrugged and looked back out over the street

"I can read." He said. "I learned when I was younger at school. I just don't read much. I don't really read mucha anything but the papes." Before he could say anything else, Jack let out a huge snore and they both turned to look at him, trying to hold back their laughter. The two turned to look back out at the street.

Emma rested her head on Crutchie's shoulder. "Crutchie?" she asked. "Why did you become a newsie?" He let out a sigh, "Here is the ever so famous story of Charlie Morris." He said poking Emma in the ribs. "For a while you sees, I hada pretty normal childhood. We were pretty poor and my dad didn't make the best of all choices and wasn't the nicest but he was fine for the most part. My mom was the quiet type but was weak and frail so she got sick pretty easily." He took a deep breath and Emma squeezed his hand.

"I went to school until I turned seven and got real sick with polio. It wasn't the woist case but because we didn't have no money we couldn't pay for medicine and I wasn't gonna be able to use my leg anymore. Later that year, my mom got real sick with a bad case of pneumonia. She was sick for two days and died on da third day. My father got real depressed and started drinkin' a lot. He would come home all angry and beat me 'cause I didn't work like the normal kids. I turned eight and ran away- I was done. I thought dat livin on da streets would be better than livin with him."

"It toined out dat livin on da streets by yourself sucks. I didn't have any money and had to use a crutch to get around. The nights were da worst though. It was the winter time and the alleys were cold and my leg tightens up. Some nights, gangs would come through and everybody like to beat up the crippled kid 'cause he can't hit back. Occasionally I could hide in the shadows or crawl behind a dumpster but most of the time my leg just hurt too badly or I couldn't get away in time. One night after a gang came through and got me pretty bad Jack found me in an alley and took me here, taught me to be a newsie like the rest of dem." Crutchie looked at Emma. "He found me in da same alley I found you in."

Emma threw her arms around him so that her face was in his chest. "Crutchie," she whispered. "I'm so sorry that that happened to you." Crutchie rested his head on the top of hers. "S'ok." He said wrapping his arms around her. "Now I'se got Jack and my other bruddas." He broke away from her embrace and put his hands on her shoulders. "And now," he said. "I'se got you." Then he pulled her in close, and kissed her.

Crutchie had his hands on her hips and Emma had her arms around his neck. The two probably would have stayed that way for a long time but broke away when they heard Jack yawn and stretch. Crutchie hobbled over to grab the bag of muffins and tossed one to each of them. Jack took a bite of his and shivered, "Man it's cold dis morning." He said as he set his breakfast down and pulled on his boots. Emma bobbed her head in agreement as she took a bite of her muffin.

"Yeah," said Crutchie. "It's not usually this cold this early in da season." The three of them sat and finished off the rest of their muffins. When Jack finished his he brushed his hands off on his pants and stood up. "Are you guys ready to leave?" he asked. Emma and Crutchie nodded and grabbed their hats and bags. Crutchie went down the ladder first, followed by Emma, and then Jack.

They hit the streets and raced down to the distribution building to try and get their first but were too late. Race, Romeo, Specs, and a good number of the other newsies were already there. Jack ran off to go speak to another boy and Crutchie shrugged. "Eh well, you can't be first every time." He said as he went to go stand in line. Emma trotted over and stood behind him.

A few minutes later Jack ran over to meet up with them and brought over to dark haired boys. The taller boy looked like he was around sixteen or seventeen and the shorter boy with the cute baby face looked like he was around eight or nine. "This here is Davey." Said Jack gesturing to the taller boy. "And his little brudda Les." Crutchie stuck out his hand and Davey shook it. "I'm Crutchie." He said. Emma gave them a small wave and smiled. "I'm Emma." She said cheerily. Les looked at her with wide eyes. "Wow!" he said. "You're really pretty!" Emma giggled and Davey elbowed him in the ribs. "Les!" he said through his teeth.

Emma squatted down in front of Les and put her hand on his cheek. "You're pretty cute yourself Les!" she said as he blushed. Jack and Crutchie both laughed and Jack started clapping. "Man Les!" he said. "You're a little ladies man ain't ya?" Jack jokingly punched Crutchie on his shoulder. "Looks like you's got some competition don't ya crutch?" Emma laughed as she wrapped her arms around Crutchie and looked up at him. Crutchie smiled and looked down at her and kissed her.

Davey and Jack laughed at Les who was crossing his arms pouting. "Alright well we'd better go get in line." Said Davey. "Come on Les." The two brothers began to walk away when Emma called out. "Les!" The little boy turned around and Emma blew him a kiss. His face lit up and he ran to catch up with Davey who was waiting for him at the end of line.

Emma stood up and held intertwined her hand with Crutchie's. "Don't worry." She said looking up at his kind smiling face. "You don't have any competition." He grinned back at her. "Thanks Em." He said looking down at her beautiful brown eyes.

He was about to bend down and kiss her when the huge oak doors of the distribution center opened and the whole room went deadly silent. Crutchie and Emma looked over to see who was there and Emma whimpered. It was her uncles.

Crutchie immediately dropped her hand and he and Jack stood in front of her trying to block her from their view but it was too late, the Delanceys were making their way over. At that moment all of the other newsboys surrounded her making a human wall.

"Out of our way runts!" snarled Morris. "We is trying to retrieve what is rightfully ours." Jack sneered. "I don't know what you is talkin' 'bout." Oscar pushed him on the chest. "You knows exactly what we's talkin' 'bout Kelly! A little certain girl, our niece." He said looking around at all of the other newsies trying to pick her face out of all the other boys. "And we's here to take her home where she's supposed to be."

"Yeah right!" Crutchie said stepping forward his eyes leveled with Oscar's. "Over my dead body!" Morris laughed at him. "That can be arranged crip." Oscar said as he reached out and punched him in eye causing him to fall to the ground. "Hey!" yelled Jack stepping forward shoving Oscar. "Don't ya ever do that to my brudda?" Race stepped forward and gave Crutchie a hand to help him get up. Emma couldn't stand just standing there and doing nothing and broke through the crowd and made her way up to the front.

"Leave them alone!" she shouted at her uncles with a fire in her eyes that they had never seen before. "I'm not going with you." Morris raised his hand to slap her across the face and everyone gasped as Emma flinched. But before his hand could hit her face Crutchie stuck out his hand and grabbed Morris's wrist. "Don't you ever touch her." Said Crutchie through his teeth. Before Morris or Oscar could react Weasel walked in. "Alright everybody line up!" he shouted to everyone. "Time to get your papers!"

They all stood still in silence until Morris finally pulled his fist out of Crutchie's hand and went to go stand next to the desk. Oscar followed began to follow him put when he walked past Emma he grabbed her arm. "You'd better watch your back princess!" he whispered in her ear. Race shoved him and Oscar let go of her arm.

All of the boys got in line And Jack and Crutchie stood beside Emma. When it was their turn Jack went first. "Fifty papes please." He told Weasel putting a handful of coins on the desk. Oscar shoved a stack of papers into his chest and Jack took a step back waiting for Emma and Crutchie.

Emma gathered up all of her courage and stepped forward to the desk, knowing that her uncles were staring right at her. "I'll take fifty papes please." She said and set a stack of coins on the table. Before the Delanceys could pick up the next bundle of papers, Weasel slid her a stack. "Stay safe girl." Weasel whispered with kind eyes. Emma gave a huge sigh of relief, "Thank you." She mouthed back to him.

Crutchie paid for his papers and they all walked out of the building together. When they were all outside on the sidewalk Jack said, "Em, you need to sell with somebody today. Dem Delanceys seem pretty pissed. I don't wants them to find ya alone." Emma nodded. "She can sell with me." Said Crutchie rubbing the eye that Oscar had punched. It was turning a dark purple. Jack nodded, "Good." He said. "Don't be go 'in through no alleys or staying out too late. Once it starts to get dark I don't care whether you is sold all your papes or not- go home." Emma and Crutchie nodded and Jack turned and put his hands on Emma's shoulders. "Stay safe Lil Sis." He told her. Then he pulled her into a hug. "I don't want ya gettin' hurt." Emma nodded into Jack's chest. "I'll be safe Jack." She said. "Don't worry about me."

Jack broke away. "Alright," he said. "I'll see you guys' later den?" Crutchie but his hand on Jack's shoulder. "We'll see ya later Jack." Crutchie said to best friend. "Don't worry about us." Jack nodded, "I'll see you later." He said as he began walking down the street. Emma held Crutchie's hand as they began to walk around the block to the fountain. "Wow." She said softly. "He's really worried about us, huh?" Crutchie smiled. "Jack's like everybody's older brudda, watchin' out for dem. He just doesn't want you to get hurt anymore."

The first few hours of selling were normal and they sold a pretty good amount of papers before deciding to take a break. Crutchie sat down on the bench and started rubbing his eye which was swelling up pretty badly. Emma went and sat down next to him. "Let me see it." She said gently putting his hand down so that she could get a better look at his eye. He scooted closer so that his face was right in front of hers.

Emma's fingers gently traced around his eye and when she got a little to close he winced. Emma leaned back on the bench. "This is all my fault." She said. "If I had just gone with my uncles you would be fine and Jack wouldn't be worried and—'' Crutchie put his hand over her mouth.

"Emma." He said looking straight into her brown eyes. "This is not your fault." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Did you punch me in the eye?" Emma shook her head. "No." she murmured. Crutchie nodded. "You didn't punch me in the eye, your uncle did. And Emma, we all love you." He brushed her long brown hair out of her face. "Me especially." Emma giggled.

"I would take a punch to the eye any day just to know that you's was ok." He said. Emma nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Thank you Crutchie." She whispered. "You're the only real family I've ever known." Crutchie leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I love you Em." He said. Emma smiled a huge smile. "I love you too Crutchie." She said.

The rest of the day went by fairly fast and they were able to sell the rest of their newspapers by the time it started to get dark. "We'd better start heading back." Emma said packing up all of their stuff. Crutchie nodded his head in agreement. "Good ol' Jack will worry up a storm if we ain't back soon."

They began walking back and quickly stopped at a cart to get sausage sandwiches for dinner. When they reached the rooftop Jack was at already there waiting for them. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Crutchie held up the bag of sandwiches. Emma gave them each a sandwich and they all sat on their mats to eat them.

By the time they all finished, it had gotten pretty dark out and Jack stood up and walked over to start a fire. Emma crawled across her mat to grab her book and started reading from the light of the fire. While she read Jack and Crutchie crawled under their blankets and went to sleep.

After an hour of reading about Alice and her adventures, Emma shut her book and crawled under her blankets next to Crutchie who wrapped his arms around her. He murmured something in his sleep and Emma smiled. "Goodnight Crutchie." She whispered.


	19. Chapter 19

** Ok guys. This chapter is more about Jack's softer side and both him and Emma's relationship with an older brother and little sister bond. This goes along with the story but it's sort of like a little one shot.**

Emma woke up late that night to someone rustling around. She closed her eyes and listened. Soon the small rustling turned into thrashing. Emma gently wriggled out of Crutchie's arms and sat up on her mat. She rubbed her eyes and saw that it was Jack thrashing around, all twisted in his blankets.

"Snyder get offa him!" Emma heard Jack murmur in his sleep. "Don't touch her, leave her alone!" Emma scrambled to her feet to go wake him. She kneeled down next to his writhing body and started shaking him, trying to get him to wake up.

"Jack," she said trying to sound soothing. "Jack wake up." Emma shook him a little bit more and he jolted awake grabbing her arm. He was breathing heavily and looked absolutely terrified but when he saw that it was only Emma he relaxed and released his hold on her arm.

"Jack its ok, you were just-'' Emma started, but before she could say anything else Jack threw his arms around her. "Thank God you's still here." He murmured into her shoulder. He picked his head up and looked around. Then he set his head back down. "And Crutchie's still here too." He murmured. Emma started rubbing his back with her hand. "Yeah Jack." She said calmly. "We're still here. We're ok."

Emma understood what Jack was feeling. She too had woken up from a nightmare before and could only feel comforted by making sure that Jack and Crutchie were ok. He took a deep breath and started telling Emma about his nightmare. "He had both of youse two and dere was nothing I could do about it." Jack muttered. "Snyder just wouldn't leave ya alone, He was hurtin' you two real bad and all I could do was watch. I couldn't help you or nothin'." Emma could feel her shoulder getting wet and held Jack tight in her arms. This boy, her honorary older brother, was hurting badly.

"I'm sorry Jack." She said soothingly. "That's awful." Jack just kept his head on Emma's shoulder. "I don't know whats I would do if somethin' 'appened to you two kids." He said. "I love Crutchie and you with all of my heart Em. Youse guys is family to me." Emma smiled, happy to know that Jack thought of her as family. "Thanks Jack." She said softly. "I love you too." Jack just rested his head on her shoulder for a few more minutes.

"I'm sorry I woke ya Em." He said as he began to sit up. "It was just a nightmare." Emma nodded, "Its ok, I get 'em all the time." She said looking at Jack's worried face. Jack closed his eyes, "They suck don't they?" he muttered. Emma nodded again.

The two sat in silence for a moment when finally Emma asked him, "Jack whose Snyder?" Jack sighed and leaned his head back. "Lil Sis," he said. "I hope you never have da meet 'im." Jack took a deep breath. "He runs this place called the refuge. It's kinda like jail for kids but worse. I've been there before but I got out." Emma held Jack's hand as he continued. "He's an evil man Em. He likes to hurt lil' kids for no reason. He beats 'em with his belt and cane." Jack shuddered and Emma spoke. "That's what happened to your back, isn't it?" she said softly.

Jack nodded solemnly. "We's both got scars Em." He said. "But we're strong too." He wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulders. "We'll be ok." Emma looked over at Crutchie's sleeping figure, his body rising and falling with every breath he took. "I hope he never gets scars." She said quietly. Jack nodded. "Me too kiddo." He said. Jack thought for a moment. "Ya know, he really loves ya." He said to her. Emma's heart swelled with joy. "You think so?" she asked. Jack grinned, "I know so." He said knowingly. "I'se can tell by the way he looks at ya." Emma giggled. "Thanks Jack." She said.

The sat for a while more just thinking when Jack finally broke the silence. "All right." He said stretching. "We'd better go back to bed if we wanna get up tomorrow." Emma yawned in response and stood up to walk over to her mat but stopped to put another log on the fire. She reached her mat and was about to lay down when Jack's voice called out to her. "Emma?" he said. "Thank you. Thanks for talkin' to me. It helps to talk about."

Emma smiled and laid down. "Your welcome." She said snuggling toward Crutchie who woke up for a second, yawned, wrapped his arms around her again, and fell back asleep. Emma smiled and bent her head to kiss his hand. She pulled their blankets up to shield themselves from the cold and closed her eyes. She prayed asking that Jack have a good dream and for Crutchie to continue to have a good dream and then, she fell asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Alright you guys, the twentieth chapter! A milestone. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, it really makes my day to read them. I hope you like this chapter and don't forget to seize the day! **

You know those days where something seems off from the very beginning? That was how Emma's day started out. Crutchie and Emma woke up at around the same time but it was too cold to get up and get breakfast right then. Emma snuggled in closer to Crutchie's relatively warm body and Crutchie pulled their blankets up over their heads.

"It's never been this cold before." Said Crutchie shivering. Emma held his hands which were much colder than hers and she tried to make them warmer. She looked at his eye and was relieved to see that the swelling had gone down quite a bit and the purple color had begun to fade away. Crutchie's teeth were chattering and Emma could tell that he wasn't handling the cold too well. She pressed her forehead against his. "Hey," she whispered. "Are you ok?" He nodded. "I just hates bein' cold." He muttered. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. "How 'bout youse?" Emma squeezed his hand in response. "I'm fine." She said.

After lying there for a while with their foreheads pressed together, the two finally pulled away from one another and sat up to pull on their boots and put on their jackets. Crutchie stood up, grabbed his crutch, and hobbled over to the fire pit to start another fire.

While he was working on that, Emma looked over at Jack and thought about what had happened last night. His face looked pained and she could tell that he was shivering in his sleep. Emma hoped that he wasn't having another nightmare. She grabbed the blankets off of her and Crutchie's mat and walked over and draped them over Jack's sleeping body. She kneeled next to him and held his hand. "It's ok Jack." She murmured. After a minute or two, he stopped shivering and his face looked a tad more relaxed. Emma felt relieved.

After getting a flame and throwing another log on, Crutchie walked over to the ladder next to Emma and began to climb down. Emma followed him down the ladder and when she reached the bottom of the alley, she saw Crutchie standing there waiting for her at the end of the side walk and she ran to meet him so that he wasn't just standing there in the cold.

When she stopped next to him he reached for her hand and held it as they began to walk down the bare street. "So where do you wanna go get breakfast?" Emma asked him. Crutchie thought for a moment. "Oh I'se got an idea!" he said excitedly. "Where?" asked Emma with equal enthusiasm, she was happy to see him so eager to show her something, especially when he obviously wasn't feeling too great.

Crutchie gave her a mischievous grin. "I'se not gonna tell you." He said with a smug smile. "I'se want it to be a surprise." Emma gave him a pretend pouty face and pulled her hand away from him and walked faster. She heard him laugh and before she could turn around, she felt his hands around her waist tickling her. She leaned against him and he leaned against the brick wall of a building, letting his wooden crutch fall to the cement ground. She was trying to fight back against him but couldn't because she was laughing so hard.

"Truce!" she said happily in between giggles. "Crutchie, truce!" He laughed and stopped tickling her, his arms now wrapped around her midsection, her heart beating pretty fast. Emma tilted her head back to look up at Crutchie and Crutchie looked down and kissed her. Emma giggled and broke away from his embrace. She bent down to hand him his crutch and grabbed his hand to pull him down the street.

"My curiosity is killing me!" she said dramatically as she slowed her pace. Crutchie laughed at her antics. "Don'tcha worry Em." He said stopping. "We's here!" She turned around to look at where they were but before she could see anything, he put his hand over both of her eye. "Hang on, hang on." He said as he helped her up a couple of stairs. "Close your eyes." He said as he opened the door, a little bell ringing when he did so.

She stepped inside their mystery location, taking in scents of vanilla and cinnamon. "You's can open your eyes now." Said Crutchie standing next to her, leaning on his crutch. Emma opened her eyes to see a cute little bakery with pictures on the wall and the display case lined with all sorts of elaborately decorated cakes and fluffy pastries.

"Crutchie," she said happily. "This is so cute and cozy!" She continued to look around. Crutchie grinned. "I'd hoped you'd like it." He said following Emma over to the display case. "Look how pretty they all are!" she exclaimed. She looked over at the muffins. "Is this where you got those muffins yesterday?" she asked him. Crutchie nodded. "Can we get those again?" she asked. He nodded and hobbled over to the person at the register. "Can we's get three chocolate chip muffins?" he asked. "And two black coffees and a green tea too please." He said as he took a handful of coins out of his pocket and placed them on the counter.

The cashier walked over to the display case and put three muffins in a bag and walked back over and handed it to him. The cashier turned around and took the pot of tea and pot of coffee and poured each into a cup, both of them steaming. He placed them all on the counter and Crutchie grabbed one, Emma taking the other two. "Thank you." Emma called out over her shoulder as she opened the door for Crutchie.

Once out on the sidewalk, she took a sip of her tea. "Mmmm." She murmured. "It's so warm." Crutchie smiled and took a sip of his coffee as they continued down the sidewalk to the rooftop. When they reached the ladder Crutchie struggled for a moment trying to balance his crutch, his coffee, and the bag of muffins. Emma giggled. "Here," she said soothingly. "Let me help you." She took the bag of muffins and tucked them under her arm.

Crutchie nodded and began to climb up the ladder, Emma following behind him. When he reached the top with only a few rungs left to go, he saw Jack who was sitting next to the fire. Jack stood up and walked over to give his best friend a hand. Emma was next and when she came into reach, he took one of the cups from her hands.

"Thanks." She said as she hoisted herself up on the ledge. She set the bag of muffins down and Jack went to hand her back her drink but she shook her head. "That one's your." She said taking a sip of her own cup. "Thanks guys." Jack said before he took a sip of his coffee.

She opened the bag and handed a muffin to everyone. The muffins were gone quickly and everyone stood up and got ready to leave. Crutchie hobbled over to his mat and grabbed his bag and Emma's and tossed it to her. "Thank you." She said to him after catching it and putting it on over her head.

They all headed down the ladder and hit the streets trying to warm their bodies and get inside the distribution building where it was sure to be warm. The finally reached the building to see a mob of newsies standing out front obviously in distress. "Jack!" cried Race as they walked up. "You's ain't gonna believe dis." Jack scratched his head and looked around. "Race," he said confused. "Whats goin' on here?" He asked. "They is raised the price of papes!" Race shouted getting angry. "To by fifty we have da pay another dime. We's don't have that kind of money Jack!" Emma paled and she could feel Crutchie's body tense up beside her. "What?" she thought. "How could they just raise the price like that? We can't afford that! A dime was worth a meal or two."

Jack looked furious. "You sayin' that Pulitzer jacked up the price?!" he shouted. Emma stood on her toes and whispered in Crutchie's ear. "Whose Pulitzer?" she asked him. "The guy who's in charge of da "World" newspaper." He replied. "But he's can't just raise da price like dis!" he said. He sounded worried and angry. Emma looked over and saw that Davey was walking over with Les. "Jack what are we's gonna do?" Crutchie asked once Davey had walked over.

"I don't knows." Jack answered. "I'se thinkin." They all thought for a moment. "We otta just go on strike." Said Davey looking at the ground kicking a rock with the end of his shoe. Jack picked his head up and looked at Davey. "A strike?" he asked curiously. "You mean like da trolley workers?" Davey picked his head up. "Yeah but I didn't really mean that we should do that!" Davey sputtered. "I was just sayin that—'' Jack interrupted him by putting his hands up.

"Dats perfect!" Jack cried. By now all of the newsies were gathered around him. "We needs to go on strike!" said Jack. Boys around him were nodding. "Davey, hows exactly do we go on strike?" he asked him. Davey scratched his head. "Well," he started. "I guess we just don't buy or sell anymore papers until they lower the price again." He said growing more confident with each word he said. "Just like how the trolley workers ain't gonna work till they get paid better."

"Perfect." Said Jack. He looked around at all of the other newsies. "Alright boys." He said as he climbed on top of a bench to look at everyone. "Whaddaya say?" he shouted. "Should we go on strike or what?" The newsies all looked at one another including Emma and Crutchie. Then they all looked back at Jack. They threw their fists in the air and called out in unison, "Strike!"


	21. Chapter 21

** This was a really hard chapter for me to write and I hope you enjoy it. Shout out to Biankes, she is my #1 fan and has left a really sweet review on almost every single chapter. Thank you so much Biankes, you make my day!**

Everyone began cheering and clapping as Jack jumped down from the bench and strolled into the building with Crutchie, Emma, Davey, and Les walking with him. Weasel was standing at the desk with the Delanceys to his left. "Weasel!" Jack declared. "Until Mr. Pulitzer lowers da prices back to what dey were, we is goin' on strike!" The other newsies joined in, "Yeah!" they shouted.

Oscar stepped forward and Crutchie stepped in front of Emma shielding her from whatever was to come. "You boys really dink dat Mr. Pulitzer is gonna listen to a bunch of alley rats?" he sneered. "Nobody asked you Oscar da Grouch!" yelled Race. Emma let out a giggle and Oscar turned to look at her with a death glare. Emma winced and Oscar turned a walked back over to Morris behind the counter.

Jack stepped forward to talk to Weasel and the other newsies started anxiously chatting with one another. Crutchie stepped back to where he had been and held Emma's hand. "Do you think we'll win?" she asked him. Crutchie smiled, "Of course we'll win!" he said, forever the optimist. "We's got Jack!"

They continued talking and Crutchie was still watching her uncles out of the corner of his eye. He put his hand on Emma's shoulder and pointed to the doors of the building. "Look." He said. Her uncles had smug looks on their faces and were leaving the distribution center.

"Huh." Said Emma with a confused look on her face. "I wonder where they're going." They turned back around and saw Jack walking over to them. "So?" said Emma. "How'd it go?" Jack shrugged. "I'se don't really know he said taking off his gray newsboy cap and twisting it in his hands. "I told him our reasons and ours conditions too."

He looked around. "But hey um, where'd your uncles go?" he asked. Crutchie answered. "We don't know. They just walked out of da buildin." Minutes went by and still, nothing happened. Weasel, who had been sitting behind his desk had disappeared into one of the back rooms, leaving the newspapers just lying on the table and in the wagon.

It wasn't before long that the boys got their hands on the papers and started ripping them apart and throwing them all over the floor. Everyone was laughing and making a mess of things when the huge oak doors slammed open and everyone turned to look. When they saw who it was they went silent. In the doorway were a pack of men, in the newspapers when they talked about the trolley strike, they talked about this group of men who were known as strikebreakers, men who used violence to get what they wanted. And who was in front of them as their ringleaders? None other than her uncles.

"No, please no." Emma thought anxiously. "Not strikebreakers and my uncles! They'll tear us to shreds." "It's the Bulls!" one of the boys shouted. Before anyone could say another word, the strikebreakers were advancing. "Newsies!" Jack yelled. "Get 'em!" Then pure chaos broke through.

There was fighting everywhere, boys on men; men on boys. Emma whirled around to look at Crutchie who was helping a smaller boy named Buttons. Crutchie turned around to face her but before he could say anything, a strikebreaker rammed into him, knocking him to the floor.

"Crutchie!" she cried as she tried to make her way through the crowd to help him. The two of them, Crutchie and the strikebreaker, were wrestling together on the ground and the man was on top of him. Both were throwing punches and Crutchie was trying to get the man off of him when a whistle blew and everyone froze.

She looked around frantically and saw Jack whose face was filled with terror, as if he was trapped in a nightmare, and he was. Jack was looking at the person who blew the whistle. "Snyder!" Jack shouted. The chaos quickly resumed and one moment Emma was just standing there and the next, she was pinned against the wall.

Her attacker smelled strongly like whiskey and had both of her hands in one of his hands above her head. She looked down at the ground and saw a pair of new black shoes. When Emma looked up at her attacker's face she gasped and tried to wriggle free. It was Snyder.

She desperately tried to break away but to no avail, he was too strong and her head hurt badly from having been slammed against the wall which was making her feel faint. He had his other grimy hand on her thigh and he began to speak in an oily voice, "Hey sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. "Why not before you go the refuge we have a little fun?" Emma cried out and desperately tried to break free of his iron hold.

He leaned in closer but before anything could happen, there was a blur and Snyder was knocked to the ground, causing him to release her. Her rescuer stood up and grabbed her hand pulling her away. It was Jack.

They stopped and Jack put his hands on her face. She closed her eyes for a second and she felt herself slipping out of consciousness, but Jack's strong hands caught her before she hit the ground. "Emma!" he yelled at her as he tried to shake her back into reality. "Emma please!" he cried. "You's gonna be ok!" Emma nodded and tried to shake off the pain in her head, "Jack," she mumbled. "Jack I'm fine. Go, go help the other boys." Jack leaned her against the wall. "Emma, stay right heres." He said before racing off to go help somebody.

"I wonder how Crutchie is—''she thought. "Crutchie. Where's Crutchie?" she stood up shakily and looked around. There he was! Crutchie was on the floor wrestling with another man. She began to run over too help him. As she got closer she saw how bad of a condition he was in. He was covered in bruises and he had a long gash one his arm. His face was a mess with a black eye and a bloody nose.

"Crutchie!" she screamed. He turned his head and looked over at her, so did his assailant. Who she saw made her blood boil, it was Morris. He gave her a wicked grin and time seemed to slow as he punched Crutchie across the face. "No!" she cried and slammed into Morris knocking him to the ground she felt another pair of hands on her arms as a strikebreaker pulled her away from both Morris and Crutchie.

"Let go of me!" she screeched as he began dragging her away. Oscar walked over and helped Morris up off the ground, Emma's had collided with his nose and there was blood all over his face. Crutchie reached for his crutch and tried to pull himself up but Oscar kicked him down so that he was lying on his stomach, and his crutch slid out of reach and right in front of a pair of new black shoes. Snyder.

He bent down and picked up the crutch and walked over to the boy on the ground. He made a gesture that looked like he was going to give the crutch back to him but instead, brought it down across his back.

"No!" Emma screamed as she struggled to break free from her captor. "Let him go!" Despite Crutchie's moans and laments, Snyder continued to bring the crutch down over his back again and again. He rolled onto his stomach and tried to use his arms and his good leg to block the crutch from his body. Emma kicked the strikebreaker holding her in the shins and he loosened his grip on her making it able for her to escape his grasp.

She jumped in front of Crutchie, trying to block him from Snyder, and the crutch made contact with her shoulder. But instead of falling down she stood strong even though her head was killing her. "Emma?" Crutchie groaned groggily. "Emma get out of here. Please Em, I'm fine." She knew that this was a lie and that it was killing him to have her stand there and take the blows but she didn't budge. Snyder grinned and brought the crutch down again trying to get her to fall down and it hit her other shoulder.

Snyder finally grew tired of this and gave her a hard shove to the ground making her head hit the tile floor. He hit her once, twice across her back and she saw Crutchie try to get up and help her but Oscar grabbed his arms restraining him. "Emma, no!" he cried fighting against her uncle. "Let her go!" Snyder hit her one more time across her upper back and stopped. Emma saw out of the corner of her eye, the crutch fall to the floor.

Oscar let go of Crutchie and he crawled over next to her. Emma could see tears on his face and he was trying to tell her something but she couldn't hear him, her head hurt too much. "Crutchie," she mumbled. "I love you and I'm sorry." She began to feel herself slipping into unconsciousness and she felt a pair of hands on her legs dragging her away. Crutchie tried to crawl after her but someone grabbed his leg as well and was pulling him in the opposite direction.

Emma could faintly hear Crutchie screaming something but she couldn't tell what he was saying. Then, her world went black.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys, trying something knew by writing in Jack's POV. I'm not exactly sure how well it's going to go but oh well. Oh, and shout-out to FansieFace. She has been so great and sent me messages and everything. You have got to read her story Legs, it's awesome! Well anyways, enjoy!**

Jack was pacing back and forth on the rooftop furious with himself. "How could I have been so stupid?" he thought to himself. "Starting the strike was an awful decision and all of my bruddas is hurt and Crutchie and Em—'' Jack slammed his fist on the railing in anger and sadness.

"Crutchie and Emma are gone." He muttered to himself. "And it's all my's fault!" He had tried to help some of the younger boys get out of the center and escape the strikebreakers by going down the fire escape. When he came back he saw his brother on the floor badly beaten up and saw Emma get shoved to the floor and beat with the crutch.

He had tried to get down to where they were, it was too late. They had both in thrown into carriages and sent to the refuge. He ran his hands through his hair. "How is they gonna survive in there?" he thought to himself as he slid to the floor. "They's just kids!"

He decided to climb down to the lodging house to check on the boys and get his mind of things. He climbed down the fire escape and went through the window into their bunk room.

Boys were all sitting down on their beds nursing some sort of injury and Jack's heart ached. But there seemed to be a vibe in the room that he couldn't place his finger on. Romeo, who was holding a wet towel to his forehead sitting on his bottom bunk was excitedly talking to Race about something.

"…and then I socked him so hard that he fell over and took another guy down with 'im!" he exclaimed throwing the hand without the towel in the air. Specs, who was in the bunk above swung his legs over so that they were hanging in Race's face. Race swatted them away and Specs climbed down to sit on the floor.

"No ya boys shoulda seen it!" Specs told his friends. "I tripped that one huge strikebreaker, ya know the one with the black leather jacket right?" The boys nodded. "He was like a huge tree and he fell over a trashcan. He looked dumber than Race!" The boys around them all laughed except for Race who smacked him upside the head.

Jack walked over to the group of boys. "What are ya boys talkin 'bout?" he asked confused. "We's just talkin about how we crushed some of da strikebreakers." Said Race as he held a bandage to his elbow. Jack was still confused. "Yeah buts look at you guys," he said. "Youse a mess."

Romeo shrugged. "It don't matter to much." He said. "They may have hit us, but we hit back." Jack smiled at his boys, happy to find them optimistic. "Hey but where's the crutch and Smartmouth?" asked Specs. "I haven't seen 'em since earlier." "Yeah." Said all of the boys nodding their heads.

Jack took his hat off and began twisting it in his hands. "That's what I wants to talk to y'all 'bout." He said looking at the floor. All of the boys gathered round Jack. "Crutchie and Emma were," he stopped and looked at the ceiling blinking back tears. "They was takin to da refuge."

The room went silent. Some boys were looking down at their shoes and others were blinking back tears as well. Race stood up and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack," he said. "I'm a really sorry." Jack put his hat back on and nodded.

"Let's break 'em out!" Romeo exclaimed standing up, but Jack only shook his head. "No. I wants to go see 'em first." He said to the boys. "They're pretty badly hurt and might not be able to get out if dey tried." Romeo sat back down on his bed. "Oh." He said. Jack ruffled his hair. "We will get 'em out though Rome," he told the boy. "Keep that thought."

Jack looked out at the night sky and clapped his hands together. "Alright boys," he called. "Gets to bed. We's ain't got no clue to whats gonna happen tomorrow." He heard several "Night Jack" and he climbed back out through the window and up the fire escape.

When he reached the rooftop and looked over at Crutchie and Emma's mats, he was immediately filled with sadness. They were empty. He went to go lay down but decided that there would be no way that he would be able to sleep knowing that their mats were empty.

He grabbed his blanket and his pillow and climbed back down the fire escape and through the window. The lights in the lodging house were off and he made his way quietly towards the empty bed at the end of the room.

"Jack?" one of the boys asked, it was Elmer. "What are you's doin in here? Ain't ya gonna sleep up on the roof?" Jack shook his head. "Not tonight bud." He said setting his pillow on the extra bed. "This ways, if anyone's got a nightmare, I'll be here."

"Oh." Said Elmer laying back down on his bed as Jack laid down on his temporary one. "Night Jack." He said yawning. Jack smiled, "Night Elmer." Then he closed his eyes and tried not to think about his family trapped in the refuge.


	23. Chapter 23

Emma woke up groggily and sat up slowly, the pain in her head was nearly gone. The rest of her body was sore, stiff, and stung, but that didn't matter to her. "Where am I?" she muttered. She looked around at her surroundings. There were bunk beds lining the walls like at the lodging house but much dirtier.

Some the beds were occupied with girls who liked like they hadn't slept in days. They all had bags under their eyes and their bodies were covered in bruises and scars. The room was dark and had a musty smell. Dingy lamps lit the room but not well, as if the dark night sky had partially devoured their light.

She looked down at the end of her bed and when her eyes adjusted, she saw that there was another girl sitting there. Emma jumped back from surprise but relaxed. The girl at the end of her bed began to speak, "You've been asleep for a long time, you came this morning and now it's nighttime" the girl said. She couldn't have been older than twelve and had her pale blonde hair tied back in a scraggily ponytail. "I'm Anne." She said softly. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Emma." Emma answered still a little out of it. "Where am I?" she asked Anne. Anne sighed a sad sigh. "You're in the refuge." Emma's brown eyes widened in horror as memories of what Jack had told her and from that morning at the distribution center began to flood her head. "Snyder, beatings, nightmares, Jack crying, kids hurt, Crutchie-'' she stopped herself as her heart clenched in worry. "Crutchie, where's Crutchie?" she thought desperately.

Emma pulled herself out of her bunk. Anne gave her a confused look. "I have to find someone." Emma said trying to solve Anne's confusion. "I have to find him." "You won't find him on this floor." Anne replied softly. "The boys' floors are the top two."

"Thank you." Said Emma kindly as she began to leave the room. As she passed the end of her bed, Anne grabbed her hand. "Be careful." Anne whispered. "Look before you leave. It's after lights out and if Snyder catches you-'' she sucked in her breath. "It won't be good."

"Ok." Emma whispered back. "I will." She walked to the door and slowly opened it. She looked out into the hallway. It was also filthy and badly lit, but it was empty and Emma cautiously crept over towards the staircase.

The first step creaked and Emma held her breath waiting for Snyder to step out of the shadows somewhere and drag her away, but nothing happened and she continued up the stairs to the next floor. Emma searched every room of sleeping, or trying to sleep boys. The ones who were awake watched her go up and down the rows as she looked for Crutchie.

Disappointed that she didn't find him on this floor, she went back to the stairs and went up to the next one. The rooms up there were the same as the one before, rows of bunk beds with boys either asleep or trying to sleep. Emma went up and down the rows once again desperately searching for Crutchie.

She gave out a small sob convinced that he wasn't here. When she turned around to head back downstairs, something caught her eye. At the far end of the room against the wall, in the corner next to a window, was a wooden crutch leaning against a bed.

Emma's heart soared as she ran over. He was on his side facing the wall but Emma could tell that it was him by his chestnut brown hair. When she reached him she was about to wake him up but stopped when she looked at him up close. It was Crutchie all right, a badly beaten Crutchie.

The back of his shirt was caked in dried blood and dirt and Emma could only imagine the horrors underneath if they were anything like her own after her uncles had beat her in the alley. His cheek had a large bruise from when Morris had punched him and the arm that she could see had a long cut down the side.

Emma gave a small cry as she took it all in and placed a hand on his shoulder. Crutchie woke up from his sleep and his body tensed. "Shh, it's okay." whispered Emma as she stroked his shoulder gently. "It's Emma." "Em?" Crutchie whispered hopefully as his body relaxed and he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her, his face lighting up. "Emma!" he cried as he threw his arms around her, enveloping her body in a hug.

Emma wrapped her arms around him tightly as well but was careful of his back. "Crutchie." She cried into his shoulder. "I couldn't find you anywhere. I was so worried that Snyder had you or that they had killed you!" she sobbed, her chest heaving. "It's alright Em." Crutchie whispered soothingly trying to get the poor girl to calm down. His hand was on the back of her skull and that seemed to relieve Emma from all of the pain in her head.

"Oh Crutchie." She said pulling out of his embrace. "They beat you up pretty badly didn't they?" He didn't respond and just lightly brushed his fingers across the cut on her forehead. "You too Em." He said softly. Emma shook her head. "Maybe. But not as bad as you." She whispered.

Emma stood up. "Hold on a minute." She said as she walked into the bathroom at the end of the room. She grabbed two towels from the cabinet and held them under the sink to get wet. On her way out she grabbed a dry one and walked back to Crutchie's bed where he was sitting up confused.

"Lay down on your stomach." She said gently sitting next to him on the edge of the bed. He obeyed and laid down on his stomach. "I'm going to clean your back ok?" she told him. Crutchie nodded and Emma began to slowly raise his shirt. She was having trouble and Crutchie sat up briefly for a minute to take it off and hang it over the metal bar. Then he laid back down.

"This might sting a little." She said as he nodded again. Emma pressed the cold wet towel down on his back and he sucked in a deep breath, his shoulders tense. Emma bent down and kissed his neck as if to tell him that she was sorry. She dabbed the towel across his back and began to clean the wounds and wipe u any blood.

There were long, red stripes going down his back from where Snyder had hit him across his back with his crutch and Emma took a deep breath trying to gather herself. When she was finished cleaning his back, she used the dry towel to dry his back. "I'm done." She told him. "Thank you." He said sitting up.

"Your turn." He told her and she raised her shirt up, exposing only her back and laid down where Crutchie had been. Crutchie grabbed the other wet towel and gently pressed it onto her back. Emma's back wasn't nearly as bad as his and he was done in a couple minutes. Emma sat back up and pulled her shirt down. As she stood up to gather the towels she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear. Then she took all of the towels and Crutchie's shirt to the bathroom to clean them.

Emma rinsed them all in the sink and when she was cleaning his shirt, the water at the bottom turned a reddish color. She hung the towels up to dry and wrung Crutchie's shirt out. She walked back to his bunk and hung his shirt up at the end of the bed.

"I need to go back to the girls' room." She whispered as she stood up leave, but Crutchie shook his head. "Em," he said. "It's too late at night. If you're caught sneaking around, Snyder will hurt you. Just stay here." Emma nodded, glad that she didn't have to go back downstairs by herself. She was scared of this new place and didn't want to be alone.

Crutchie stood up next to the bed to let Emma crawl in next to the wall and winced, his face full of pain. Emma's face filled with worry. "Crutchie what's wrong?" she asked concerned. "It's my leg." He said gritting his teeth. "They must have beat it pretty bad to make it this tight." Emma crawled in bed so that he could sit back down.

He tried to massage some feeling back in to t to help it to loosen up and Emma helped him. "Ok," Crutchie said as he stopped. "It should be better by mornin' now." He laid down on his side facing the wall and Emma did the same, her back against his bare toned stomach. Crutchie pulled the blankets up to their shoulders and wrapped his arms around her protectively as she snuggled into him.

"Good night Crutchie." She said yawning. Crutchie smiled as he kissed the back of her head. "Goodnight Emma." He whispered. He felt her chest rise and fall against him and Crutchie did something that he hadn't done in a while, he prayed. Crutchie prayed that Emma and himself would get out of this hellhole soon. Then, he fell asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

** Hey guys, sorry for the delay! I live in the beautiful state of Florida and our state government has decided that the best way for us to spend our time is with standardized tests. After a full day of taking these life sucking demons, I have to go to two hour play practice. Then, basically, I come home and pass out. So writing, has really not been my biggest priority. But then get this, I finish this chapter, I'm about to click the save button when WHAM! Lightning strikes, and our power goes. I lost this entire chapter. To say the least, I was furious! But anyway, enough ranting…. Thank you guys so much for reading my story, it really means so much to me and when I read your reviews they really make my day. Thank you guys so much! You rock! **

Crutchie and Emma woke up early the next morning out of habit and were facing each other with their noses touching. They were awake before the rest of the boys and not knowing what to do, the two just laid there. The room was cold but not as cold as what it usually was on the rooftop. Emma finally sat up clearing her thoughts for more important things such as the condition of the boy that she was lying next to. "Let me see your back." She said. Crutchie nodded and rolled over from his side to his stomach.

It was better than what it had been. Not as messy and bloody, but Emma decided to clean it again anyway. She went into the bathroom and got the towels that she had used the night before and got them wet from the water from the sink.

She came back and proceeding in cleaning his back which didn't take nearly as long as it had the night before. Emma could see where there was going to be scars and she blinked back tears thinking about how she had told Jack that she hoped that Crutchie would never have scars but brushed them away; now was not the time.

Once she finished, Crutchie sat up to grab his shirt that was hanging over the metal railing of his bed and pulled it on. Emma walked back into the bathroom and cleaned the towel and then hung it back up to dry.

Walking back to Crutchie's bunk, Emma looked around at all of the other sleeping boys and shivered. They all looked gaunt and worn down even when they were sleeping. Emma picked up her pace and sat down next to Crutchie who wrapped his arms around her and just held her.

She didn't have to say anything, he just knew. She was scared- they both were. Who hadn't heard the horror stories of the refuge? Emma had now witnessed one of Jack's nightmares and Crutchie had observed several others.

Emma leaned her head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head. "It's gonna be ok." He whispered. "We's gonna get outta here." Emma nodded but said nothing.

The sat there in silence for a few more minutes when all of a sudden they heard what sounded like two pans banging together, causing them both to jump. Boys around them sat up and rubbed their eyes.

"Get up you miserable maggots!" a gruff voice yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Boys around them dragged themselves out of bed and filed out the door and down the stairs. Emma stood up and handed Crutchie his crutch.

When he stood up he sucked in a quick breath and put his hands on the bed to catch himself from falling. Emma picked up the crutch which had fallen to the floor. "Are you okay?" Emma asked him concerned. He nodded and pulled himself back up.

"I'm fine." He said as Emma handed him the crutch. "My leg's just a tad stiff." He hobbled around for a second just to wake up his leg a little bit and then Emma joined him and they made their way down the stairs.

Crutchie and Emma made their way down the dim hallway listening for the noise of kids talking quietly, and opened an oak door to what looked like a mess hall with more kids than there was places to sit causing them to sit on the floor.

They joined the line of kids waiting to get a bowl of what looked like some sort of oatmeal mush and Crutchie wrapped his hand around Emma's who squeezed it back. They stepped forward as the line slowly progressed and couldn't help themselves but look at their surroundings.

All around them children looked terrified and miserable barely speaking to one another above a whisper of fear that they would be noticed. Emma shuddered and turned to face Crutchie who seemed to be lost in thought. "I wonder how the boys are doing." She said to him snapping him out of his daze.

"I'se sure dat they're fine." He said. "They can all run pretty fast and ain't seen no udda newsie here so far. I think that it's just us." Emma nodded. "That's good." She said. "Jack's gonna need as many people as he can get to win that strike." Crutchie smiled. "He's gonna win." He said cheerfully. "I'se can feel it."

Emma smiled and snuggled her head into his shoulder. They had to stand around and wait in line for a while because apparently the "cooks" hadn't made enough food and they had to make more. Crutchie looked down at Emma and was about to say something when he was interrupted by a welcoming, "Hello." From a boy with black hair.

Emma and Crutchie turned to face him. He had black hair and was a little taller than Crutchie. Probably almost seventeen years old. "You's two is new here right?" he said. Emma and Crutchie nodded. "I'm Michael, I try da help out da new kids so dat it ain't too bad here." He said holding out his hand for them to shake. "Crutchie." Crutchie said shaking his hand. Emma waved. "I'm Emma." She responded.

"Alright," he told them. "Listen here. As long as ya follow orders and do what ya's told this place isn't a living hell. Every kid here has some sort of chore to help 'em stay outta trouble and busy." He looked at Crutchie. "So ya can't move around too well can ya?" he said to him. Crutchie shrugged as if to say, it is what is. "You can have kitchen duty. All that is washing and drying dishes. Ya think you can do dat?" Crutchie nodded.

Michael looked at Emma and thought for a moment. "Can ya clean windows?" he asked her. "That's what a handful of girls do and it don't take too long." Emma nodded. "I can do that." She said. One of the "cooks" yelled something and the line resumed moving.

"Ok, good." Said Michael. "You's two is all set." He turned to walk away back to where he had been sitting. "Just do what you's told and stay safe." He called over his shoulder. They would have nodded but his back was turned. "Ya knows, he kinda reminds me of Jack." Crutchie said. "Yeah." Emma said thinking to herself and wondering how he was doing.

They finally reached the front of the line and were handed two crude bowls of what you might call oatmeal and head over to a clear space against a wall to sit down. Crutchie made his way to the ground slowly and Emma set the two bowls next to him. "I'll be back in a second." She said. "We forgot spoons." Crutchie nodded and she headed back to the counter were some dull silverware had been but in a basket.

She began searching for two spoons when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Emma turned around to see the girl with pale blond hair, Anne. "Did you find him?" Anne asked quietly. Emma nodded. "I did and thank you for your help last night." Emma told her. "If you hadn't told me where to go I wouldn't have found him." Anne gave her a small smile. "What chore did Michael assign you?" Anne asked her. "Window duty." Emma replied. Anne's face lit up. "That's what I have." She said happily. "And so do some other girls. It's pretty easy and we always finish pretty quickly."

Emma finally found another spoon. "I'll see you later Anne." She said as she turned to head back to where Crutchie was sitting. "Bye." Anne said and she disappeared back to wherever she had been sitting.

"Who was that?" Crutchie asked when Emma got back. "She helped me last night." She replied. "Her name is Anne." Emma sat down next to him and rubbed the two spoons with her shirt; she didn't exactly trust the sanitation of the refuge.

"She sleeps in the first girl's room and she gave me directions." She said handing him his spoon. He took the spoon from her and handed her one of the bowls of watery oat mush that were next to him. They both took a bite of their breakfast and scrunched up their faces. Emma used all of her willpower not to spit the repulsive oat mush back into her bowl.

"Well," Crutchie said after swallowing a spoonful. "Its mornings like dis I miss da bagels." Emma nodded her head in agreement. "I'll eat to that!" she said as she struggled to swallow another bite.

Crutchie took another bite as well and looked over at Emma's bowl. "I'se bet," he started poking her in the side and making her laugh. "That I could finish my bowl before you." Emma smirked. "Bring it on!" she said and they both dug into their food determined to finish before the other person. Crutchie was winning when Emma dropped her spoon into her bowl.

"Ok, ok." She said breathing heavily. "You win, you win. I think I'm gonna puke." Crutchie laughed as he set his half-finished bowl next to him. Emma rested her head on his shoulder, then she sighed. Even for just a few moments, it felt as if she and Crutchie had been out of the refuge and back selling papers and on the rooftop. Crutchie leaned against her and rested his head on top of hers. "I love you Emma." He told her. "Emma smiled. "I love you too Crutchie."

She was about to say something to him when the sound of a shrill whistle pierced the air. Immediately, kids stiffened and their heads snapped to the doorway. Emma stood up and gave Crutchie a hand to help him stand up. He grabbed his crutch and leaned against a wall with peeling dark green wallpaper that was behind him.

Emma could hard loud clanking footsteps on the wooden floor, but couldn't see who it was. She stood on the tip of her toes and looked over all of the kids' heads. When she saw who the feared figure was, she gasped and leaned against Crutchie who instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "Snyder." She whispered.

"All right everyone!" Snyder yelled through the mess hall. "You have all spent enough time relaxing and eating your _lovely _breakfast. Now it's time to get to work!" Nobody moved, all too full of fear from his presence. "Now!" he bellowed slamming his cane on the ground. Everyone, including Crutchie and Emma, jumped and scrambled to put their dishes in the bin and get to work on their chores.

As kids were leaving the mess hall, a young boy walked past Snyder and the vile man stuck out his cane, tripping the boy. The little boy stumbled and fell to the ground as Snyder laughed. Crutchie felt his body tense in anger and Emma squeezed his hand trying to calm him down as they walked out the door and into the wide hallway.

They walked out of the flood of children and looked at one another holding both of each other's hands. "I'se gotta go to the kitchens now." He said motioning to the line of kids heading into the back room that said "Kitchen" on the door. "And I need to go clean windows." Emma said. "Why not we meet at your bunk once we're finished, ok?" she said. Crutchie nodded and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll see ya later, ok?" he said. Emma nodded. "Stay safe, promise?" he stated. Emma nodded and kissed him on his cheek. "I promise." She said. He smiled and let go of her hands. Then he turned and walked towards the door that said "Kitchen" as Emma turned around and saw Anne waiting for her with a big smile on her pale face.

"Anne, what are you smiling at?" Emma asked her teasingly. The young girl sighed. "It's so good to see something happy here." She said softly. "But come on." She said as she turned around. "Follow me, I'll show you where to get your rag and bucket."

Emma smiled and followed Anne down the hallway and they stopped in front of a small storage closet. Anne opened the cabinet and pulled out a few rags and then two buckets. She walked over to a small sink next to the wall and began to fill them. "Emma could you bring me the bottle of soap?" she asked. "It's on the shelf behind you." Emma turned around, grabbed the soap and brought it over to Anne who poured a little in each bucket. Then she handed one of the full buckets to Emma and threw a rag into it.

Anne wiped her wet hands on her skirt and then grabbed the other full bucket which had the remaining rags in it. "We're the second floor windows." She told Emma as they walked out of the storage closet and shut the door. They climbed up a flight of stairs and Anne started speaking again. "I'll do the first half and you do the second half." She told her. Emma nodded. "Sounds good." She told her. "Thanks Anne." Anne nodded as if to say she was welcome. "When you're done, just go back to the storage closet and empty out your bucket and rinse your rags ok?" Anne told her. "I'll see you later Emma." She said walking away.

"Bye Anne." Emma said and she set down her bucket and pulled out a rag to start working on a window. She began thinking about the strike was wondering how it was going and how her fellow newsies were doing. She was thinking about that until, she heard the loud footsteps coming up the stairs.


	25. Chapter 25

Emma's heart skipped a beat and she froze in fear from the sound of the footsteps coming up the stairs. "Is it Snyder?" she thought fearfully. She was thinking about what had happened last time in the distribution center. She was sure that it happened all the time here, and this time, there would be no Jack to save her.

She took a few steps back hoping to find someplace to hide, but just backed into the wall. It was rainy and dreary outside with a hidden sun and the lights were so dim in the halls that when the figure emerged at the top of the stairs, she could only see his silhouette.

Emma cringed and waited, waited for him to be holding her against the wall, waiting to smell the liquor on his breath, waiting for whatever was to come. Then the waiting was over. "Hey, girl, could ya give me a hand with these?" a boys voice called out. Emma brought her hands down to see who it was and then breathed a sigh of relief.

It was the boy with black hair, Michael, carrying two large buckets with water. Emma dropped her rag in her own bucket and walked over to Michael, taking a bucket from him. "This way." He said as he started down the hall.

"You looked pretty scared when I came up the stairs." He said to her looking worried. "Ya ain't scared of me, are ya?" Emma shook her head and looked at down at the floor. "I thought you were…" her voice trailed off. "Snyder?" Michael said as he turned and opened the door to a bunk room. Emma nodded

"So I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you've been in a run in with Snyder the spider before?" Michael said setting his bucket on the floor and gesturing Emma to do the same. She nodded.

"Sorry kiddo," he said walking back towards the door to leave. "That's rough. Hope you don't have ta run into him again any time soon." He held the door open for her. "Thanks." She said quietly. "What were those buckets for?" she asked him as they headed back down the hall to where she had been working.

"Some of da younger kids have floor duty and gotta scrub da floors." He said. "Dey's too small to carry dem up here so I bring up for 'em. I was pretty impressed that you could carry one yourself." Emma lightly punched him on the arm. "Tiny but mighty." She told him. He grinned. "I'se don't doubt it." He said.

They reached the staircase where Emma had working and she picked the rag back up to continue. "Thanks again Emma." Michael said, heading back down. "No problem." She said, focusing on getting a stain off of the window.

After a while of finishing the windows on her half of the floor, she put her rag back in her bucket and carried it down the stairs and back to the storage closet. Once she got there, she did what Anne told her and emptied her bucket and rinsed her rags. Then she headed back up to the fourth floor to wait for Crutchie.

Back in the bunkroom, there were several boys who must have already finished their chores, playing a game of cards. She gave a small laugh, they reminded her of Race and his friends all sitting around his precious poker table playing a game and gambling.

Her laugh caught one of the boys' attention and he turned to her. "Ya wanna us to deal ya in?" he asked her. The boy had red hair and many freckles and he looked pretty friendly but Emma declined. "No thanks," she told him as she walked over. "I'd rather just watch." The boy shrugged and he turned back to his game.

She watched the four boys playing in total seriousness and as time passed, other boys were making their way into the bunkroom. But there was no Crutchie. "Excuse me," she asked a younger boy with dark brown hair who had just walked in. "Do you know how long it takes for someone to finish dish duty?" The young boy shook his head. "Sorry," he told her. "I ain't been here too long."

Emma nodded and the boy walked away. She went and sat down on Crutchie's bunk, nervously tapping her foot. "Where could he be?" she thought growing more and more anxious as boys kept walking in. She took a deep breath. "Calm down." She told herself as she walked over to the bunk and sat down. "You are overreacting. He's probably fine, there are probably just lots of dishes." She watched as more boy piled in to the bunkroom and she hopelessly scanning, trying to find a chestnut brown haired boy with a crutch and wide smile. "He's ok." She thought again. "Right?"

Emma stood up. "I'm going to go look for him." She thought to herself. "What if something's wrong and he needs help?" She squeezed past the group of boys who were chatting quietly amongst themselves. Some of the boys had black eyes and bruises and were covered with a layer of dirt and grime. Emma hoped that she wouldn't find Crutchie with a black eye or something worse.

She opened the door and headed out into the short hallway that lead to the staircase and walked quickly, her heart beating fast. Emma ran down the stairs to the first floor, trying to remember where the kitchen was that Crutchie had gone into earlier.

She took a left at the end of the dark hall and never slowed down her pace as she continued to make turns and open doors just to find, nothing. Emma was getting frustrated with herself. "I'm an idiot." She thought angrily. "I should have paid more attention this morning so that I wouldn't be lost, and I would have found him by now and-." She quit running and stopped dead in her tracks.

Emma could hear what sounded like a bottle breaking, coming from down the hall. Curiosity took over and rather than turn around and head back, she followed where the noise was coming from. At the end of the hallway was an office with dark tinted windows. "Whose office could this be?" She thought as she crept closer. She read the sign on the door and took a step back. It was Snyder's office.

There was another crashing sound and Emma jumped back as the door flung open, banging into the wall behind it. Snyder stumbled out of the office with a bottle of whiskey in his hand and when he saw Emma frozen in fear, he laughed. He dropped the whiskey bottle, causing it to shatter, and before Emma could react, pinned her against the wall.

Emma let out a small cry as he held both of her hands in one of his and was using his other arm to pin her shoulder against the wall. "Let go of me!" she cried, thrashing around and trying to get away from his grasp. All he did was laugh and Emma cringed from smelling the liquor on his breath. Snyder studied her face for a moment and his greasy face lit up as if he was remembering something. "Hey wait a second doll face, I-I'se remember youse from da distribution center." He said slurring his words. "I was just about to get started when dat street rat came and ruined things!" Emma continued trying to squirm and get away.

"But Kelly ain't here to save ya now is he?" he said taunting her. Emma looked up at him and spit in his face. In a rage, he let go of her and slapped her hard across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor on top of the shattered bottle. She rolled away from the shattered bottle and tried to get up and run away, but slipped on the puddle of whiskey on the floor. Snyder stepped out to grab her but thankfully, slipped in the whiskey as well.

Emma let out a sob as she ran down the hall trying to find her way back to the fourth floor, trying to find her way away from him. She could hear Snyder yelling after her and the loud clonking sound of his shoes against the dirty wood floor as she continued to run and run until she found the staircase. She stopped for a moment to listen and try and hear if he was still chasing her, but the first floor was silent. All that Emma could hear was the sound of her ragged breathing.

She heaved a sigh of relief ad wiped away the tears that were blinding her. She slowly walked up the wooden staircase to the fourth floor where she could hear the familiar commotion of boys behind the door. She reached for the handle just as the door opened. A boy with chestnut brown hair was looking behind him over his shoulder, "I have to go and find 'er!" he was yelling. Then he turned around and jumped when he saw Emma.

"Em!" The boy shouted, grabbing her shoulders Emma looked at the boy's face which along with a black swollen eye, had a huge smile. It was Crutchie. His face was momentarily filled with relief that he had found her, and was then filled with concern and distress. "Oh God, Emma!" he started looking at all of the cuts on her body. "What happened to ya?" he asked her looking into her brown eyes which were filled with fear.

Emma felt dizzy and began to slide to the floor, but Crutchie reached out and grabbed her. "Thank you." She murmured as she tried to regain her balance. Crutchie put her arm around his shoulders, and he led her back to his bunk. She sat down and he sat down next to her leaning his crutch against the wall. He put his hand on her cheek, which was red from where Snyder had slapped her. He brushed his thumb against her cheekbone. "What happened?" he asked her gently.

Tears began to slide down Emma's cheeks and Crutchie pulled her close, wrapping his arms protectively around her. She nuzzled her head against his chest, listening to his heart. Boys around the room gave her brief looks of pity and then turned back to what they had been doing.

"I was so worried." Emma said quietly, her head still against his chest. "You weren't back and I thought that something awful had happened so I went out to go find the kitchen." Crutchie placed his hand on her back as she continued. "I got lost and walked past Snyder's office. He was drunk." Crutchie looked down at her and could tell that she was shielding her body and closing herself off. He knew that it wasn't directed towards him and that she was just scared but he was nervous. "Emma, did he touch you?" he asked her gently putting his hands on her shoulders, making sure she was looking him in the eye. Emma could tell that he was trying hard not to get really angry and go find Snyder.

She shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "He was drunk and dropped a bottle of whiskey and it shattered. He got mad and pushed me and I fell on top of the broken bottle. He tried to grab me but he slipped in the whiskey and I ran away." Crutchie only nodded and reached for my left arm which had taken the most beating to the broken glass.

"We's need to clean ya up." He said as he stood up. "I'll got get some towels." Emma nodded and laid down on the bed, suddenly exhausted. A few minute later Crutchie hobbled back with a damp towel and a dry one. He sat down next to her and she tried to sit up and help him. "Shh." He whispered. "Youse just lay down, ok?" Emma nodded and rested her head in his lap.

He lightly started dabbing her arms with the damp towel and could hear Emma's steady breathing as she closed her eyes. Crutchie gave a quiet laugh looking down at the now sleeping Emma. But that laughter was replaced with anger and frustration as he wiped the blood off of her arm.

"When I find Snyder I'm gonna kill 'em." He thought to himself. He lightly dried off her arms and hands with the dry towel. Then he cautiously stood up and set her head down on the pillow trying not to wake her up. She mumbled something to herself and rolled over onto her side. He smiled and hobbled off to the bathroom to wash off the towels. Crutchie held the towels under the sink and scrubbed them until all of the stains were out. He hung them back up to dry and made his way back to his bunk. He heard an older boy call out, "Lights out everyone!" Several 'goodnights' were exchanged and all of the boys crawled into their own bunk and laid down.

When Crutchie finally reached his bunk, he saw Emma sleeping in the exact same position he had let her in and he smiled to himself as he leaned his crutch up against the wall. Then he crawled into bed next to Emma's small figure.

He pulled the covers around the two of them and Emma nuzzled her head into his warm chest. Crutchie wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He looked up and out the window that was next to their bed at the sky, where he could see the dim brightness of stars. Emma murmured something in her sleep and Crutchie held her tighter. "I love ya Emma." He whispered. And then, he fell asleep.


	26. Chapter 26

Emma woke up later that night freezing underneath the thin blankets and was reminded of the cold nights up on the rooftop. She rolled over onto her back and looked out the window until she heard Crutchie start mumbling in his sleep. Emma sat up and tried to gently shake him awake when his body started jerking and his mumbling got louder.

"Crutchie come on," she said as she continued to try and shake him awake. But he was too lost in his nightmare to feel whatever she was doing to wake him up. She finally put both of her hands on the side of his head to hold him still and put her face in front of his so that their noses were touching. "Crutchie!" she said loudly.

His eyes flew open as he began to try and sit up. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He was mumbling. He looked over at Emma who was holding his hand. "I'se didn't mean to wake youse." He said. Emma let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around him.

"You don't need to apologize." She said into his shoulder. Emma laid back down next to him and he rested his head on her chest. She wrapped her arms back around him. "It's gonna be ok." She whispered into his hair. "We'll get outta here soon."

He nodded into her chest and a few minutes later fell back asleep. Emma sighed stroking his hair and looking out the window. "We will get outta here, right?" she thought to herself. She looked around the room at all of the boys who were sound asleep. Most of them had been here for years with no signs of getting out. "Is that gonna be us someday?" she thought now looking at the ceiling.

Crutchie began to stir a little and shifted his body, keeping his head on her chest. "No," she thought, "We will get outta here, the boys back home won't forget about us." This morning at breakfast there had been talk about the strike. "They'll win!" she began to think hopefully. "No one is more stubborn than Jack. And once they win, we get to go home." Home. Back on the rooftop, waking up early, selling newspapers.

She kissed the top of Crutchie's head. "We'll be home soon." She looked back out the window at the night sky where no stars were visible. "Soon."


End file.
